In Vitro We Trust
by loneranger67
Summary: Jane and Maura have been together long enough to try for a baby...and if they can get through the hardest part, what dramas and excitement await our ladies? Come and find out with me... I promise it will be worth it! K rating for now, but that may change. * CHAPTER 11 is now up! * Rizzles, romance and total fluff...chapter 11 is a mild T rating...
1. You can't make an Omelette

**I've wanted to write a multi- chapter story for a while now, but couldn't quite get in the groove, until this idea was thrown into my head one night and wouldn't go away. Thanks to AE for the initial idea. **

**Now, I don't claim to be a font of all knowledge when it comes to this subject, and if there are inaccuracies or blunders, remember, it's fiction, not fact- although, as will become clear, I did have to do some research. I just like to write, and if you like it too that's great, but please don't have a go at me if I get some details wrong- it's a tricky subject to write about, but I hope I do it justice. I'm sure you'll let me know if I don't! **

**I plan to do as many chapters as I can, but it's also up to you- if you'd like me to continue then let me know by following, reviewing, favouriting or by PM - If it looks like you don't then...well...actually I don't know what, maybe I'll just trudge off and sulk. But I like this story and I'd like to be able to follow it through to the bitter end! **

**As usual I own nothing in the Rizzoli and Isles Universe, TNT and Janet Tamaro and Tess Gerritson got there first...dammit. I just like to write about them, and the words at least are all mine. **

**So, settle down, get the pizza sliced, grab a beer or a Pinot Noir and I hope you like it. **

Chapter One- 'You can't make an omelette...'

~ 0 ~

"You'd think a swanky place like this would at least have the latest issue... this magazine was here the last time we came."

Jane surveyed the plush waiting room as she absently flicked through the Homes and Gardens journal perched atop her crossed leg- not her preferred choice of reading material, such as Sports Illustrated or Weapons Weekly, but then, she wasn't _actually_ reading it.

Maura glanced down at the journal, catching fleeting glimpses of high end homes and the latest decor trends, but none of them interested her in the slightest right now. Her eyes discreetly scanned the room, noticing that most of the other couples had the same barely hidden look of anxiety that she and Jane had.

She leaned in gently to her girlfriend - the page flicking had become irritating, but she kept her composure - Jane was just as nervous she reminded herself.

"And some of these _couples_ were here the last time we came Jane" she said with a slightly dejected sigh. Jane heard the sad tone of Maura's voice and put the journal back on the pile. She took the ME's hand in hers and leaned in, trying to sound as upbeat and confident as she could, but knowing she didn't actually feel it- they'd been at this point before.

" Yeah, but the next time we come, it could be with a little passenger on board."

Maura squeezed Jane's hand and smiled at Jane, appreciating the attempt to lighten her mood, and wondered if Jane realised she'd said exactly same thing at their last two visits.

"I know honey, third time lucky do you think?"

Before Jane could answer, a nurse appeared, with regulation clipboard in hand and smiled happily at the couple. "Doctor Isles, Ms Rizzoli, want to come on through?"

Jane and Maura linked hands and followed the very chipper nurse into Clinic Room One. As they took their seats, both women were now feeling quite nervous, but were having the same optimistic thought...'Third time lucky.'

~ 0 ~

The Meyer Clinic was, in Maura's opinion, not just the finest IVF facility in Boston, it was one of the top three in the country. Since the late 1980's when the husband and wife team of Ernst and Ingrid Meyer had founded the clinic, it had quietly established itself as one of the most advanced Institutes of In Vitro Fertilization in the US - as far as Jane was concerned, if it had Dr Isles' stamp of approval it was the right place to go to.

But as one of the top three facilities in the country, it came at a top drawer price, and Jane had struggled to reconcile the fact that Maura would be funding their possible journey into parenthood- the high cost was never going to be affordable on a 'meagre' detectives salary.

Maura of course had used logic and reasoning to back up her argument - as The Chief Medical Examiner her disposable income was far higher than Jane's. Add to that a sizeable trust fund to be used when and where she saw fit, and it seemed the obvious way to fund the IVF treatment. Maura would never use her money against Jane, knowing all too well how easily the detective's pride could be dented, so she simply applied some common sense.

"Jane, I understand why you feel like this, I do, but would you agree that we're absolutely equal in all things _except_ our finances?" she asked her frowning girlfriend. Jane had to admit that Maura had never assumed to be the 'superior' of the two of them- but it didn't mean she couldn't pout about it.

"Yes.. I guess I could." she replied, looking for all the world like a sulking teenager. "But..." and Maura cut her off before she could argue the point.

"So, it's all relative isn't it? I'm incredibly lucky to have the trust fund, it means we can afford to try for a baby without struggling to find the money. I know that you feel you can't contribute to this the way you'd like to and I understand."

She took Jane's hand in hers, and placed it against her own belly. "But Jane, _here_ is where you'll give me something so amazing and wonderful...something that's worth so much more than all the money in the world. This baby will be _yours_, your eggs mean this baby will be a Rizzoli, and I can't think of any better way of contributing...can you?" Jane wiped a stray tear from Maura's cheek, and felt herself getting a lump in her throat. What they were planning was huge, and up until now Jane hadn't fully realised how much they both wanted this.

"Well, when you put it like that, then no, I guess not." She looked at Maura, imagining her pregnant with their child, probably looking more gorgeous than ever, even with swollen ankles and sore boobs. She pictured being dragged round while Maura shopped for designer maternity clothes, and wondered if she'd still be wearing her five inch Milano Blahblahs in the delivery suite.

She pictured them holding their newborn baby, instantly becoming a family. She didn't think she could imagine anything more beautiful than Maura cradling their new son or daughter, and the image just made that golf ball in her throat grow even bigger. She shook her head and then studied Maura's eyes intently, and wondered if she could love her any more than in this very moment.

"A Rizzoli huh?" her grin widened at the thought, "I like the sound of that," and she gently pulled Maura in for a kiss..."but I think I like Rizzoli-Isles better."

~ 0 ~

Jane and Maura were sitting together on a very comfortable soft leather couch in Dr Sabine Meyer's very stylish and modern office. As Jane _tried_ to wait patiently for Dr Meyer to begin proceedings- the doctor was thumbing through Maura's medical chart- she took in her surroundings. Three of the four walls were painted in a soft blue, with various works of modern art adorning the large space. The room could easily feel sterile, devoid of any warmth, but it was saved by an apparent fetish for soft toys and children's paintings- and a jukebox in the corner. It was an odd mix indeed, but somehow it all worked and matched the character of Dr Meyer- professional on the one hand, and warm and fun on the other. It meant that it was easy to feel relaxed in a room where hopes and dreams could either be realised...or shot down in flames.

The neutral coloured walls behind the doctors desk were filled with all manner of diplomas and certificates, and a blown up Sonogram picture of a foetus. There were also numerous photographs of her and her parents at important looking functions. Jane was sure there was one photo of them with the Clintons, although from this distance it could easily be The Simpsons, it was hard to tell. She was about to say something wholly inappropriate to Maura when Dr Meyer suddenly spoke and Jane snapped to attention.

"So, Maura, it's been forty eight hours since we harvested Jane's eggs, and the mix looks good...I know how disappointed you both were that the first two attempts didn't stick, are you ready for round three?" and she offered them a small bowl of popcorn which Maura declined. Jane on the other hand hadn't eaten since breakfast..."Oh yes, thank you." and Jane munched away as Maura spoke to Dr Meyer.

" It _was_ disappointing Doctor, but we know not to expect miracles straight away don't we Jane?" and Maura looked across to Jane who had just filled her mouth with a handful of popcorn. A mumbled "sorry, yes" and a nod of agreement were conveyed back, and Maura smiled and continued.

"We did have a question though. Realistically, how many attempts at this is too many? I mean, before we have to think about giving up?" Maura was prepared to try as many times as possible, but she was worried about the emotional toll on both of them. She had read as much as she possibly could about the processes involved in this newer technique, but still wanted to hear the 'reality' from someone she trusted.

Adoption was the next logical step, but they both wanted to at least give IVF their best shot. Jane listened intently and held Maura's hand a little tighter.

Dr Meyer leaned forward on her desk, both hands clasped together.

"Well, the birth rate within three completed IVF cycles is, on average, eighty five percent, using the embryo transfer technique. But that's just an average Maura, and as you know, there are other factors that come into play." Maura nodded, as a doctor herself she knew all about 'other factors'.

"But, I've heard of patients having more than _twenty_ cycles and all of them failing. One woman in particular was about to give up, until finally one little egg hit the jackpot, and she's now a mother to a healthy and thriving boy. So, I think you should approach this with...guarded optimism...but be very aware that you may have to consider alternative methods." Jane considered Dr Meyer's words carefully, and now free of popcorn could speak.

"So, and I'm sorry but this seems the best analogy I can come up with...you're saying, don't put all our eggs in one basket?" Maura groaned at the joke, and Dr Meyer smiled. "That was terrible Jane, but yes, that's what I'm saying. But who knows, you could hit the jackpot today... just hold on to some of that optimism for me. Now, Maura, if you're ready, would you like to choose what we listen to on the jukebox? And then we need to get those eggs settled in...are you ready?"

Maura took a deep breath, this was the one part she wasn't so keen on - stirrups, speculums and syringes- but, as Jane herself couldn't impregnate her, as much as she wished she could, her eggs would have to suffice. She girded her loins and jumped up. She walked over to the jukebox, Dr Meyer liked her patients as relaxed as possible, and music was a perfect distraction. When she'd made her selection, she took Jane's hand again and followed the doctor into the Procedure Room. "Ready as I'll ever be."

~ 0 ~

Twenty minutes, and several Eagles songs later, the procedure itself was done, and Maura was instructed to rest for an hour before heading home. Jane had held her hand throughout, just as Maura had when Jane's eggs were harvested. Maura may carry the baby they hope to eventually have but it's the combined effort of both woman, and the anonymous sperm donor that will determine the outcome. In two weeks time they could discover if they were going to be having a baby.

Jane sat by the side of the bed, absently stroking Maura's arm, counting the freckles she'd counted a hundred times over, and probably would count a hundred times more.

" I know we have to make sure those eggs stay put, but the hardest part of all this is not making love to you for two weeks." She started to kiss Maura's freckles, one by one. "Why is it that when someone says you can't do something, that's the one thing you want to do more than anything?!" They both laughed as Maura ran her hand through Jane's wild locks.

"We can make love Jane, I'm just not allowed to orgasm." She thought about this, and the last time they'd had a ban on sex, which resulted in them practically ripping each others clothes off on day fifteen...and the memory of how good it was would live long in both of them.

Maura lay on the examination bed thinking about the next fortnight, and the restrictions placed on them- she knew the routine by now and would gladly go without everything if it meant the pee on a stick test came back positive. But going without an orgasm for two weeks when you have Jane Rizzoli laying next to you? Well, that would surely test the resolve of a eunuch.

" I think I need to take up a hobby." said Maura with a sigh.

Jane had issues of her own with Maura not being able to orgasm- the notion was almost an affront to her Italian heritage.

"I think I need to take up with the nuns." said Jane, with a hint of panic.

~ 0 ~

**I hope you liked it, maybe let me know what you think?**


	2. Que Sera Sera

**Thank you thank you thank you! For the follows, the reviews, for the sunshine and the air that we breathe. I'm so glad you seem to like it, so here's some more for you! **

**No beta, no proofreader, all mistakes are mine and mine alone.**

**Let's see how our ladies are faring shall we?**

Chapter two

Once Maura's resting hour was up, Dr Meyer reminded them both of a few do's and don'ts that Maura must observe over the next two days- no orgasms, ( at which Jane's eyebrows almost met in the middle ) no baths, no heavy lifting and no strenuous exercise such as Zumba or running. Gentle yoga was allowed and encouraged as a stress reliever, as was returning to work straight away, if only to take her mind off the dreaded 'Two Week Wait' - the time that must elapse before testing to see if the embryo has stuck and she's pregnant...or if hasn't and she's not.

"Just take it easy over the next two days Maura, but don't put your lives on hold...it sounds so cliché, but what will be will be." Maura gathered her things and made to leave, and Dr Meyer had some words of encouragement for Jane.

"You two have a great relationship and it's obvious you worship each other," Jane smiled bashfully and nodded, "Yeah, we do" and she took Maura's hand.

"So, over the next two weeks, look after each other, love each other and use some of that optimism we talked about...you know where I am if you need anything, just call the Clinic and they'll put you straight through. If it's urgent here's my cell number." She handed Jane the card, she already had one from the last visit, but she didn't want to appear impolite. " Do you have any questions before you go?" She felt strangely drawn to Jane and Maura, they had such a relaxed, friendly way about them, she felt sure they'd become friends outside of their professional relationship.

"There is one thing Dr Meyer, and I hope it's not too personal." Jane said, almost embarrassed.

"Ask away Jane, and please, call me Sabine, it always feel so formal when I'm calling you Jane and Maura." She leaned back against her desk, hands in her pockets, wondering what Jane's question might be.

" Okay... _Sabine_, I wondered if you have any experience of IVF yourself, you're so calm about it all, it's like you know what we all go through...and how hard it is when it doesn't work."

Jane had tried to appear not too downhearted at the failure of their first two attempts, for Maura's sake, feeling she needed to be that bit stronger, and for her girlfriend to be able to lean on her. But at each failure she had felt bitter disappointment, as if somehow her eggs failing was her fault, that she herself was a failure-something she hadn't yet shared with Maura. Telling Sabine that it was hard for her too was quite an admission.

"Actually, no... well, not in the way you might think anyway." Jane and Maura looked intrigued and she gave them a gentle smile. "I was a test tube baby, one of the first actually, my parents couldn't conceive naturally and it was their work here at the Clinic that resulted in me." She turned and pointed at the giant Sonogram picture behind her desk. "You see that picture?... that's me, at eighteen weeks, but it had taken my parents years to be able to get me to eighteen weeks."

Jane was transfixed by the photo..." Amazing" was the best she could come up with.

Dr Meyer continued, "So I know what _they_ went through to have me, and how much they wanted me. And I know it's the same for you two and all our other patients- you just want a child...I hope we can give you that, I really do."

~ 0 ~

Jane drove them back to BPD Headquarters and the ride was a thoughtful one. The two week wait was agonising, with so much at stake - by the end of the month they would find out if they were going to be parents, a notion that Maura hadn't really seriously considered just a year ago.

When she and Jane had stopped dithering and finally acknowledged what the rest of the world had known for months- that she and Jane were already dating, they just hadn't realised - their relationship had moved on at quite a pace. That was two and a half years ago, in which time Jane had moved in with Maura, and was renting her apartment to her brother Frankie. The closest she and Maura had come to parenting was looking after Jo Friday and Bass the Turtle, and occasional baby sitting sessions with Tommy's son TJ.

It was this that brought out Maura's maternal side, and whilst she'd always liked children, she'd not really considered them an option if she wasn't in a relationship. That all changed when she and Jane had their first kiss on Valentines Day of all days, and after she first held TJ in her arms it was as if Mother Nature was leaving Post-It notes everywhere, as the desire to have a child became stronger.

What surprised Maura was how natural Jane was with TJ, as if she'd been around babies all her life. She surmised that having to help with two younger brothers when she was growing up had more of an effect than she'd realised.

Now, a year after TJ's birth, after many discussions and so much research that even Jane could write a passable thesis on IVF, here they were, on the first day of another long two week wait. It would be yet another test of strength...and of resolve - Jane could already feel Maura's hopeful frustration, she felt it too, and it was only day one. It was going to be a long two weeks.

~ 0 ~

Back at BPD, they headed straight to The Division One Cafe to see Angela with a progress report as requested, but also to get some food and coffee - a bowl of popcorn wasn't exactly part of Maura's healthy lunch plan for Jane. Angela was ready for them as they rounded the corner, and she ushered the couple to a table that she'd actually reserved for them - Maura was potentially carrying her second grandchild and she wasn't taking any chances.

" Maura honey, here, sit yourself down, how did it go...is everything okay?" and she put down a huge plate of sandwiches in front of them. "I figured you hadn't eaten yet, and you need to keep your strength up, so, dig in."

Jane wondered if her mother had even noticed she was there. She'd been like this the last time they came back from the clinic- fussing over Maura and her potential grandchild- Jane knew it was important to her, of course it was, but Maura was possibly going to be carrying Jane's baby, from _her_ eggs, and it did grate on the detective that her mother seemed to forget that she was even involved in the process.

"Hey, Ma, remember me?" she said with more than a hint of curtness, "would you stop fussing please? Maura's fine, and you treating her like glass isn't helping." Maura glared at Jane, knowing she was getting stressed out by her mother, but also seeing the hurt look on Angela's face- for day one of the two week wait things were going badly already. Jane was still feeling the residual effects of the hormones and drugs she had to take before her eggs were harvested, and she was more uptight than usual. Maura took Jane's hand and mouthed to her "It's ok" and pushed the plate of sandwiches toward her, "Eat something Jane." she told her antsy girlfriend softly- 'if only to keep your mouth busy' but she kept that thought to herself.

"Angela, we appreciate your concern, we really do, but I'm fine, honestly. Jane's on a mission to look after me, and there's nothing we can do now except wait...we're just a little..._on_ _edge_ at the moment, this isn't easy, on _either_ of us." and her eye's gesturing toward Jane made sure Angela knew what she meant. Angela's faced softened a little, realising that perhaps she was a little... one sided with her concern.

"Can I get you some coffee Jane?" she asked by way of a peace offering. Jane looked at Maura, eyebrows raised. "Yeah, thanks Ma" she replied, noting her mother's gesture at least, "but not if Stanley made it, I swear he puts horse dung in it or something. Would you like some tea Maur?" The ME nodded to Angela, and she was on her way to the counter like Usain Bolt on the start line.

Maura bit into a sandwich, she hadn't realised how hungry she was. Jane was obviously just trying to keep quiet now, she was on her third sandwich already, and Maura just wanted her to relax so they could just get on with looking after each other - the protective side of Jane was one of her most endearing the ME thought, but the grumpy side she could well do without.

Angela returned with herbal tea for Maura, and a huge cup of coffee for Jane, and when she put it down she kissed the top of Jane's head. "I'm sorry honey, I know this is just as much your baby as it is Maura's, it's just, well I want _so_ much for you to be parents, it's the greatest thing you'll ever do, and I just get a little carried away sometimes you know?"

Jane did know, all too well, but for the sake of Maura and not wanting to argue, she held her tongue - somehow Maura always managed to calm the detective, even when her mother was driving her nuts.

"I know Ma, and it _will_ be wonderful, but it hasn't happened yet... Maura was right, we just have to wait. The next two weeks will be stressful enough with work, without everything else that's going on."

She took a big sip of coffee - at least it was an improvement on Stanley's usual slop, but only just. Maura was still tucking in to her lunch, not exactly eating for two, but not exactly eating for one either. When she'd finished her mouthful, she spoke to Jane, but aimed the words at Angela.

" I'm going to head back downstairs when we've had lunch, I can get on with some paperwork, and then we'll have a quiet night at home. I think we could use some alone time tonight don't you honey?" Jane nodded fervently in agreement, and mumbled "definitely." This time it seemed Angela picked up the hints they had dropped.

"Ok, ok, I get it you two, I'll leave you alone for the next few days... Jeez...you know you only had to say!" and with that she bustled back to the kitchen, as if nothing had happened at all.

The women both snorted with laughter - Jane thought her mother really was a one-off, and her heart was in the right place even if her brain sometimes wasn't.

"I'm sure I was switched at birth Maur, if I ever get like that with our kid you have my permission to slap me hard with a wet fish. She really is unbelievable, and I know she means well but...ugh." She finished her coffee, and grabbed another sandwich. "Anyway, you ready to go?" and she stood up and wiped crumbs from her shirt and pants.

"I hate to say it Jane but you're more alike than you think...loyal, protective, caring. Everything that made me fall in love with you in fact. She just forgets that sometimes even a badass like you needs some tender loving care. Don't worry, I'll make up for it- what would you like to eat tonight? I'll make whatever you like...within reason of course."

Jane was about to answer that she'd like to eat Maura, and her face lit up for a second, before she remembered the thing they're not allowed to do for two weeks. Not wanting to make Maura feel bad she thought of something else. "Grilled cheese and a beer...and you and me watch a movie. I'll even let you pick, how about that?"

Maura nodded and smiled as they headed out of the Cafe and to the elevator - Jane going up, Maura heading down. As the doors opened, Maura looked around before giving Jane a quick peck on the lips and they each got in their respective metal box, beaming at each other.

"It's a date Detective, I'll see you in the garage at six?"

"Count on it Doctor, and remember, no heavy lifting...and no Zumba!" and the doors closed.

~ 0 ~

As Maura's elevator made it's way down to the morgue, she put her hand against her flat belly, and imagined how it might feel if she _were_ pregnant and she'd felt the baby kick for the first time. In these private moments she allowed herself to dream, to 'what if', to imagine scenarios with herself, Jane and their baby. A mini- Jane maybe, with wild unruly hair and intense chocolate eyes - she couldn't imagine anything more beautiful than Jane holding their baby in her arms, soothing her to sleep, or putting him to bed and reading him bedtime stories...she'd be wonderful with bedtime stories.

The door opened and she was back to reality in the morgue. Making her way to her office she said a silent prayer to no-one in particular, just hoping that a 'higher power' of some kind might be listening over the next two weeks.

"Please, let it stick this time...please... let me be having Jane's baby."

Only time would tell if her prayer was answered.

~ 0 ~

**Find out more in the next chapter...see you there. By the way, this won't all be resolved in 5 chapters, which is why they are short.**


	3. The calm before the storm'

**Thanks for all the follows and reviews, it means a lot that you care about the girls as much as I do. I'm pleased with how the story is going, but it won't be rushed, a lot can happen in 9 months...but it also won't _all_ be about the IVF either- trust me. **

**Let's see what's happening shall we?**

Chapter three.

By the time Jane and Maura got home, it was almost seven o'clock and Maura for one was exhausted. The early start, the embryo transfer and the awkward little spat with Angela had all taken their toll and she flopped down on the couch - getting up again was not her preferred option. She found herself fast forwarding nine months- if today had tired her out, what on earth would she be like if she's the size of a small car and due to give birth?

She snapped that thought straight back out again and wondered about dinner instead. She'd promised Jane grilled cheese and grilled cheese she would have - at some point tonight.

Jane watched as Maura stretched herself along the couch, 'she looks so tired' she thought to herself and decided it would just be cruel to make her get up.

"Maur, don't worry about cooking, I'll do us something when I've had a shower...now, in the meantime, can I offer you a refreshing beverage of some kind Madame?" Maura _was_ thirsty, yet another side effect of the embryo transfer, and the hormones still surging around her body, and as she couldn't indulge in alcohol she'd make do with a soft drink.

"Do we have any soda, or juice, or lemonade? Any of those would be lovely... I'm too tired to choose so you pick one," and she summoned enough energy to pick up the remote and click the TV to life. "What would you like to watch tonight Jane? A movie or sports or a documentary?" and she flicked through the channels, not settling on anything for more than a few seconds - tired indecision was becoming the norm these days.

Jane had found a carton of fresh orange juice and brought a glass over for each of them - in solidarity to Maura, she would forgo the alcohol as well - and she might as well accrue a few good girlfriend points in the process, she may need them someday.

Maura yawned, and sipped at her juice, she hadn't felt this tired in weeks, and she was ready to drop off there and then- Jane could see that sleep wasn't far off and made an executive decision.

"C' mon Maur, you take a shower, I'll cook us up something fantastic and then you can hit the hay, you're done in." and she held her hand out for Maura to haul herself off the couch. " And if your really lucky, I'll even give you a foot rub." Maura liked that idea a lot and gave Jane a quick kiss, and headed to the bathroom.

" Just don't make the foot rub too good Jane...you know I'm not allowed to orgasm." and she padded into the shower.

Jane pondered this for a few seconds, smiling to herself.

"If I could make you orgasm from a foot rub Maur, I think I'd earn about a million good girlfriend points..." and she went to the kitchen to cook up a storm..."and a spot on America's Got Talent "

~ 0 ~

By ten thirty both Jane and Maura were in bed, having had a very interesting stir-fry/pasta la Rizzoli fusion combo for dinner. They had both showered and Jane had even had time to give Maura her foot rub. As usual, just before lights out, they sat in bed reading and chatting about the day that had just gone.

Work, unfortunately, had been slow, and while neither of them wished anyone to get themselves murdered just to keep the department busy, it did make for a long afternoon. It meant they both had time to think, and Maura had been wanting to talk to Jane about their chat with Dr Meyer. She knew Jane was more upset about the first two attempts not working than she had let on, she knew her too well not to be able to spot the signs. But it still irked her that Jane felt she couldn't tell her about her feelings- as much as she loved how protective Jane could be, Maura wanted her to share some of the load.

She glanced across at Jane, who appeared to be engrossed in her copy of Weapons Weekly.

"Dr Meyer is lovely isn't she?" she casually through in, hoping to start the conversation rolling. Jane continued looking down at her magazine.

"Mmm, yes she is...I like that picture on the wall, the sonogram. It's amazing to think that she was _made_ in a test tube...it's hard to get your head around some of this isn't it?... Mother Nature can only do so much I guess." and she flicked to the next page...Maura had found her way in, and pretended to read for a while. After a suitable amount of time had passed she casually started talking.

"It's not your fault you know" she said quietly, putting down her copy of Medical Examiner Monthly. Jane shifted slightly. " The first two tries I mean... it's not your fault they didn't work." She took the magazine from Jane and put it on the bedcovers. Jane kept her eyes down as if she were still reading it. " I know you feel like you failed Jane, but you didn't, like Dr Meyer said, what will be will be...I just wish you'd talk to me about how you feel. You said yourself to Angela -I'm not made of glass...and I'm not fragile... I won't break."

Maura's hand found Jane's and she waited patiently for the detective to gather her thoughts. "I know you're not fragile Maur, I just.. sometimes, and this'll sound stupid I know, but sometimes I wish I was a guy so I could actually give you a baby...and now I've said it out loud it sounds even more stupid." She shook her head and sighed. "But I want it so much to be _ours_...a baby we made together... out of _our_ love you know?" Her chocolate eyes found Maura's.

Maura nodded and tried her hardest to keep down the lump that was forming in her throat, as Jane continued, "and when it didn't work the second time I did feel that maybe there was something wrong with me. That my eggs were, I don't know...past there use by date or something." and she half smiled, "Egg wise I'm not getting any younger, and I try to be positive and hope for the best, but it's hard you know...it's so hard when it's you that I feel I'm letting down."

Jane swallowed hard, and gripped Maura's hand, 'damn those hormone shots' she thought as she wiped her eyes. Maura had heard enough, and lifted Jane's chin to face her.

"Now you listen to me Jane Rizzoli, you could never let me down, not in this, not in anything, do you understand?...I love you, and I love that you're prepared to go through all this for us to have a baby...and when it happens it'll be so wonderful we'll probably want to do it again...and I _would_ do it all over again Jane, in a heartbeat...even with your out of date eggs!" Jane had to smile at that. " I'd do it because I know how much we _both_ want it. We're in this together, just like always... but let's wait and see what happens this time round okay? Let's be positive, like we said, third time lucky."

Maura put the magazines on the bedside table and cuddled up to Jane, letting her hand drop naturally on Jane's chest, above where her heart would sit.

It was moments like this that Jane felt overwhelmed by Maura's love for her, that someone so unselfish, so utterly beautiful inside and out could feel for her the way she felt about Maura - it defied all logic, and it made her heart swell so much she was sure Maura must be able to feel it pounding under her palm.

"I'm sorry for not talking to you Maur, and you're right, whatever happens, we're in it together. It's just my pride taking a dent that's all." Jane placed her hand on Maura's belly, and gently drew circles over it with her palm. There could be a baby in there she thought, well, the beginnings of a baby at least.

"Amazing" she said quietly, more to herself than anything.

"Yes...you are." Maura said to Jane, very deliberately, "Now go to sleep...this little egg needs some peace and quiet."

Jane gently slid up a little but kept her hand on Maura's belly. Her mouth met Maura's and they kissed with a slow, tender rhythm, Jane's tongue only tentatively trying to part her lips, but Maura's soon responded and it met Jane's, and before long the kiss was becoming more heated. Maura could feel the tell tale signs of arousal and slowly pulled back from Jane - the sense of loss was immediate. She put her index finger to Jane's lips..."We can't do this...I'm sorry, but we have to be so careful..." Jane knew she shouldn't have started something she couldn't finish.

" No, you're right, I know we can't... you're just so damn kissable" She gave a frustrated sigh..."okay, do you need anything before we go to sleep...some water or something?"

Maura flicked the nightlights off and snuggled as close as possible into Jane.

"No, I have everything I need... right here."

Within minutes they had both succumbed to slumber, still holding each other, and for the first time in days, both she and Jane enjoyed the luxury of a full nights sleep.

~ 0 ~

At ten o' clock the next morning Jane was at her desk finishing up some paperwork from their last case. She'd had the best nights sleep for as long as she could remember, and for once all was right with her world.

She knew Maura was downstairs in the morgue, but as no cases had come in yet she was probably either sterilising her instruments again or pretending to be updating her files on the computer - which meant in a couple of days another pair of Milano Blahblahs would appear in her shoe closet. How many people had a closet just for shoes anyway? Jane's old apartment had a tiny space for all her clothes, shoes, and jackets - Maura has a walk - in shoe closet bigger than her old kitchen.

Just as she was about to sneak downstairs to try to catch her girlfriend out Frost and Korsak came back from the Cafe with coffee and donuts. Frost handed Jane hers and the men each sat at their respective desks.

"Thanks Frost...hey...do you guys go to the bathroom together as well?" she asked with a smirk, " because, you know, that's how rumours start..."

Korsak was about to come back with a sharp retort when his cell went off, followed by Jane's and then Frosts. "Well, now you'll never know." he told Jane before answering. The trio of detectives all answered at the same time "Rizzoli"- "Frost"- "Korsak."

They grabbed their coffees and donuts and left the department. They'd caught a case, a triple homicide down town and were on their way to the scene, as downstairs in the ME's office Maura's cell rang as well. "Dr Isles...yes...thank you, I'm on my way."

She looked at her computer screen and quickly closed the browser- a page full of nursery furniture and soft furnishings - she'd tried not to but she couldn't help herself. She grabbed her purse and ME's bag and left, grateful for a distraction, even if it was at someone else's expense.

It would be the start of a very long distraction.

~ 0 ~

When Maura arrived, the scene reminded her of the Boston Bombing - crowds had gathered, and uniformed police were doing their best to hold them back or usher them away. She found Officer Walker who she knew from many a crime scene, and went through the motions of formally announcing her arrival - "What do we have Brian, it looks a little...heated." She could feel the sense of anger from the crowds, and wasn't relishing the prospect of trying to make her way through.

"Looks like it's gang related Dr Isles, if you'll just wait a moment I'll let Detective Frost know you're here. Detective Rizzoli asked him to come up and take you to the scene." He made the call and within what seemed like only seconds Frost was there, looking harassed.

"Hey Dr Isles, Jane didn't want you to have to try to fight your way through... anyone that looks vaguely official is being given a hard time."

" I appreciate it Barry, thank you." Maura was grateful for Jane's thoughtfulness, and as they walked to the scene Frost kept her close and his hand never strayed far from his firearm.

"Officer Walker said it was gang related, how many victims do we have?" She was mentally preparing herself, gang related homicides usually meant kids killing each other.

"Three that we know of Doc, they all look like teenagers... all three have multiple injuries. It's certainly not pretty that much is for damn sure."

"It never is Barry... there's Jane." She raised her hand to acknowledge the detective, and Jane strode over, her long legs making short work of the distance between them. Formal etiquette took over now, as Maura looked down at one of the bodies. "Detective, thank you for sending Detective Frost, I appreciate it." Jane nodded, the last thing she wanted was for her possibly pregnant girlfriend to get caught up in gang warfare.

"No problem Doctor, shall we get to work? The sooner we get away from here the better."

~ 0 ~

As Maura worked, Jane made sure she was always close to her, gathering evidence from the victims clothing, checking for ID's. Korsak searched the scene with some uniformed officers, looking for shell casings and marking where they were found. Frost drew the short straw, and braved the angry crowd trying to find anyone that would talk.

As she watched Maura and her colleagues work, she realised for the first time how her mindset had changed. She'd always been protective of Maura, physically and emotionally, but with Maura potentially carrying their child, Jane found she now had a different and worrying set of priorities.

Looking after them came top without question, but she still had to focus on the scene and her team - they had to know she always had their backs.

This was going to be a difficult juggling act - she just hoped she could keep all the balls in the air.

It took a few hours to process the scene, but eventually they all made their way back to BPD. They all had their work cut out, getting any statements had been almost impossible, people feared reprisals anyway but if someone talked it almost guaranteed a visit to Maura in the morgue.

Maura had a long afternoon ahead of her with three bodies to process. She would probably start one autopsy today, the other two would be done tomorrow.

Jane, Frost and Korsak were busy trying to find out about the gangs involved, and who shot who and why. All in all, it was going to be a long night, that would become the start of a long week.

Home comforts, and thoughts of babies would be taking a back seat for the foreseeable future.

~ 0 ~

**Life always gets in the way of a good story doesn't it? Speaking of which, I'm moving house, but I hope to update once a week, twice if I can. See you at chapter 4.**


	4. Patience is as patience does

**Well, what a week! First of all I'm thrilled at all the follows and reviews for a story that's only been up for a week, so thank you one and all! It's the best response so far to one of my little ole stories. At some point I'll be asking for some reader participation, so watch this space!**

**I also wrote a story in homage to this weeks R&I episode 'Killer in High Heels' called 'A Jailbird in a Jumpsuit', you'll find it lurking in the M rated section if you're interested. It's a love story, but has scenes of a sexual nature, so don't read it if that's not your thing.**

**Also this week we had a 'freemaura' campaign running and turned Twitter orange for the duration - and freemaura trended so thanks to everyone who re-tweeted.**

**The Zimmerman Trial also made the headlines this week, and was on my mind as I wrote.**

** In other news, I'm moving house in 2 weeks and that's taking a chunk of my time, so bear with me folks, I hope to still be updating weekly.**

**So, to the story, let's see what our ladies are up to shall we?**

~ 0 ~

Chapter 4.

'Patience is as patience does...'

The following days seemed to pass everyone by in a blur of witness statements, autopsies and interviews. It meant long, frustrating days, and not much time for loved ones or socialising. In fact Jane and Maura had hardly seen each other - like ships that pass in the night, they really only talked over dinner, and then would flop into bed exhausted.

Jane was making sure Maura got plenty of sleep, which meant early nights for both of them, but she couldn't switch off as easily as her girlfriend. Weapons Weekly had never been perused in such detail...she even found herself reading one of Maura's fancy Homes magazine. If she wasn't careful she may have to consider a subscription to Readers Digest - that would guarantee a good nights sleep.

In the homicide case, initially the theory was that this killing was gang related, with three young men dead at the scene, all killed by gunshots it seemed a logical deduction. And the reaction of local people at the time seemed to also point that way, with BPD bracing themselves for reprisals or vigilantes.

But delving into the lives of the boys it seemed it wasn't that clear cut at all. There were no obvious connections to any gangs - and Frost had spent two days working on that idea alone - and there was no evidence that any of the boys were involved in drugs. The only thing they had in common was that they were all friends, and they all attended the same school.

So the Gang Unit and the Drug Unit, although called in to assist at first, were surplus to requirements. Frankie for one was disappointed - with his recent promotion to the Drug Unit he'd hoped to get involved in the case with his big sister, but with no connection to drugs, he was back to floating between all the departments. He wondered if he'd ever be able to emulate Jane's success as a Homicide detective.

"It'll happen Frankie, but you can't rush it" Jane told him as they met at the water cooler. " That big case won't come along to you all gift wrapped, you have work the little ones first, get some experience under your belt." Frankie knew she was right, and he was proud to have been promoted so young, a Rizzoli trait it seemed. But it didn't make him any less impatient for that big break, for that one case that might make his colleagues acknowledge there was another Detective Rizzoli at BPD.

In the meantime, it looked like he'd just have to wear a bigger belt.

"How long before you caught your first big case Jane? Before people _really_ took notice of you...I know you were the youngest and all, but when did you know you were, you know, like a _real_ detective?"

Jane gave him a wry smile as she tried to remember that far back in history - it seemed like a lifetime ago. She was a veteran and not yet forty years old. Becoming the youngest detective in Homicide had been an honour, but being female as well had meant coming up against sexism, chauvinism and every other 'ism' in the book.

"I had my share of small cases, but most of the guys didn't trust a woman with anything bigger than interviewing witnesses. I got asked to get a lot of coffee...and to file a _lot_ of paperwork...it was only Lt Briggs having faith in me that got me promoted... well, that and the brass _having_ to have a woman to make the numbers look better."

Frankie shook his head, it was hard to imagine now that his ballsy sister could ever have been relegated to the office minion, She paused as she remembered the first case that she had taken the lead on, with Korsak letting her following her instincts. At first even he wasn't sure about Jane, he'd never worked with a female detective, but he respected Lt Briggs' opinion, and if he said she'd be good that was all he needed.

It didn't take him long to find out just how good she was.

"Korsak wasn't sure about me at first you know, but I think he saw that I was good with people. I could read them somehow, and I could usually sniff out the bad ones, I was good with body language, finding their weak spots you know?." Frankie nodded in wrapt attention, he and Jane rarely spoke like this, about work, but now he was a detective, they were on a more equal footing.

" There was one case, a young woman, Deanne Ward, she was found in a dumpster, she'd been strangled." Jane's voice became softer as she remembered the case, and Frankie could tell she was still affected by it.

" There was no obvious suspect, no boyfriend that we knew of, her family were all ruled out initially. But there was something about her brother, Leon, and I couldn't say what it was exactly, but he seemed too upset almost, a little over the top for my liking. Anyway, we found out from one of her school friends that she'd been seeing a boy at school, in secret you know, and her brother found out from one of _his_ friends," she took a sip of water, and took a moment.

"Let me guess" Frankie said " Deanne was black and this boy wasn't?" Jane nodded.

"Uh huh, Leon was... _devout_ in his beliefs shall we say, and no sister of his was gonna hook up with a white boy. He threatened the boy, but they carried on seeing each other, and Leon just lost it one night. She came home from a secret date, he cornered her...and he killed her. He hid the body and acted all overly grief stricken when we talked to him. I took the lead when we questioned him, and Korsak knew that I knew he'd done it...got a full confession within fifteen minutes...but it ripped the family apart." She shrugged, "Such a waste" and she paused before continuing.

"So after that, Korsak let me follow my gut, and between us we got results. The other guys had to sit up and take notice of the _little_ _woman_ then...little brother!" She ruffled Frankie's hair, and gave him a one armed hug, which Frankie reciprocated.

"Just give it time bro, you'll make your mark...just like I did...now, you go and..._detect_ things... I need to go see Maura, see if she has anything for us." Frankie made to head off and detect, but turned to ask Jane another question.

"How is Maura Jane? How long before you find out about the _'you_ _know_ _what'_? Frankie spoke in hushed tones, Jane had asked her family not to say 'baby' so as not to jinx anything. She knew it was probably stupid, but just didn't want to take any chances.

" She's good, I think she's glad of the distraction when she's working. I just don't want her to tire herself out. And about a week or so before we can do a test. Ugh...I _hate_ the waiting, I wish we could just find out now, but we have to wait...patience is a virtue apparently.

It might well be a virtue, but Jane's patience was beginning to wear thin...with the case...and the _you_ _know_ _what_.

~ 0 ~

If the triple homicide wasn't gang related, the crime lab was going to have to find something to help them crack the case. As Maura was finishing up with one of the victims, she thought about the notion of 'gang culture' and what it represented. She had found the use of the words 'gang' and 'culture' together to be a complete misnomer - there didn't seem to be any 'culture' in killing each other for nothing more than being in the wrong part of town, or in the wrong gang.

As Maura looked down at the third victim, Trey Harrison, by all accounts a good boy, with good grades and three siblings left behind to grieve, she could have wept.

"What kind of world are we bringing our children into?" she said to herself, unaware that Jane was quietly watching her from the doorway.

"The kind that we'll have to protect him or her from Maur, that's all we can do." Maura jumped at the intrusion on her day dreaming, as welcome as it was. "Oh, Jane, you made me jump, I didn't know you were there!" she said with her hand against her heart.

"Sorry... I'm wearing my new stealth boots today... at least I didn't catch you and Susie in a passionate embrace." She smiled at her girlfriend as she made her way to the table, Maura gave her an exasperated smile... "Smart Ass."

Jane stood beside Trey's body, opposite Maura who gently brought the sheet back over his head.

"I wish I could make sense of it for you, I really do" Jane said. Standing with her arms crossed, she stared down at the boy's lifeless body with sadness in her eyes. This case coming when she and Maura were trying for a baby - and trying to stay positive - couldn't have come at a worse time, although when was there ever a good time for something like this? Maura looked at her girlfriend, the strong, gutsy detective, and could see how much she was affected by it.

"You'll figure out who did this Jane, I know you will. Do you have any new leads yet?" Jane shook her head, they were making some progress, but not fast enough.

"No, Frost might have something from a witness, he's waiting to speak to them, and even Rondo's keeping his ear to the ground, but otherwise, nothing solid...are you releasing the bodies soon? I know the families are finding the waiting hard ... the media are still all over it, this case seems to have hit a nerve. Maura was on her way to her office when Jane arrived, and she beckoned her to follow.

" Actually I was just about to...we're all done down here, they can go back to their loved ones...they won't get closure until we find who did this, but at least they'll be with family." She tapped some keys on her computer and that was that - for now, the ME's work was done.

" We did find one interesting thing though" Jane's ears pricked up at Maura's words, hopeful for some kind of lead.

"Some bruising appeared on Trey's knuckles and hands, post mortem, it looks like he might have hit someone. I thought it worthwhile to check for DNA, I don't know if we'll get anything, it was a tiny sample, but, you never know. Susie's working on it, but it'll be a while before we get any results back."

Jane's face lit up at this, at least it was something, and she took two strides and gently pulled Maura in for a Rizzoli patented hug, which the ME was all too ready for. Jane always managed to arrive at the right time, even if it did put Maura at risk of cardiac arrest. Somehow, a hug from Jane told her how much she was loved without any words being spoken, and it was the most comforting feeling in the world.

She could have stayed in the detectives arms indefinitely, or even longer, but Senior Criminalist Chang chose that precise moment to knock on the door. What was it about Susie and her timing, Jane wondered - although she had a pretty good idea - Susie always managed to 'appear' when she and Maura were having a 'moment', and Jane wondered if perhaps Susie had CCTV rigged up in the lab - she quickly scanned the office. She wouldn't dream of calling Susie a 'stalker' as such, but certainly a 'moocher', and one that Jane had her eye on.

Maura called for Susie to come in, and Jane gave her a look of slight suspicion that said 'I'm watching you', and Susie looked up at Jane and pushed her glasses back up to the bridge of nose. "Detective" she politely said.

"Susie" she nodded ..." what do you have for us?"

Maura observed the mini power struggle with amusement, Jane had said before she thought Susie had a crush on her, Maura just called it 'mentor admiration.'

'It's only one step away from stalker Maura' she'd thought to herself.

Susie produced a folder, handed it to Maura and scuttled out again.

Maura thumbed through the contents, not talking, just making small eye gestures. Jane was becoming impatient with being ignored.

"Later that same day...come on Maur, anything interesting in there?"

Maura put the folder down and smiled knowingly at Jane.

" Only if you find overtime sheets and vacation requests interesting Jane." she said with a serious tone. Jane sighed, her frustration not far from the surface. Maura continued, " When we get the results back you'll be the first to know...until then you'll just have to be patient." She stood with her arms crossed, looking quite the schoolmarm.

There was that word again, mocking her..._patience_. The mood at BPD had been 'gloomy with a hint of desperation' all week, and all of them were feeling that they'd never catch a break. Jane for one, had just about had enough and was ready to call it a day.

"I know, and I'm trying, it's just so frustrating. And having another week to wait for our results isn't helping either." She ran her fingers through her hair, and exhaled slowly. Maura gave her a quick hug, "I know Jane... I _might_ be pregnant, but I don't _know_ and it's killing me having to wait." Jane held her tighter, knowing she shouldn't be feeling sorry for herself while Maura felt like that.

" I'm sorry Maur, just having a bad day" she said, placing a kiss on her girlfriends cheek..."hey, if you're done here, let me take you to dinner, I know a nice little place not far from here...they make the _best_ macaroni cheese, I think we could both use a break don't you?"

"Dinner would be lovely, thank you, I only had a salad for lunch."

Maura switched off her computer, gathered her things and let Jane hold her coat while she shrugged herself into it. They walked out of the morgue, and headed to the parking garage.

On the way to the restaurant, Maura thought about the case, hoping something would come of the DNA test, if only to give Jane something to get her teeth into. She thought about the possibility of being pregnant, for about the hundredth time that day, and discreetly placed her hand on her belly.

She also thought about dinner, and how hungry she was... and how much she _loved_ macaroni cheese...or rather, how much she _used_ to love it...the thought of it now was making her feel a little queasy.

~ 0~

**Hope you liked it, let me know what you think...and things will happen in the next chapter...good things! See you there I hope.**


	5. Wishing, Waiting, Hoping, Praying'

**Thank you all so much for making this officially my most followed story to date! I'm a little bit overwhelmed, and thrilled that you're still enjoying it! My one ambition is to get to 100 follows...that's all! Now, this chapter is a little bit longer, because a lot happens! **

**Let's find out what's been going on shall we?**

Chapter five.

As each day passed, the team in Homicide was becoming increasingly frustrated. They were still no closer to finding the killer or killers of Trey, Michael and Marlon, but it certainly wasn't for the lack of trying. Although the media interest had waned and the local community had cooled off once they knew it wasn't gang related after all, the case still needed to be solved. Jane was sure they'd covered all the angles, but without much to go on they felt like they were banging their heads against a brick wall.

Other homicides and a suicide had come and gone in all this time, and there were currently just two open cases for the team to investigate.

It was now August 12th, day twelve of the two week wait, and Jane and Maura were almost at the end of their respective tethers. Frustrated at the case, frustrated waiting to see if Maura was pregnant, and for Maura at least, frustrated by Jane's libido. The lack of sex was not good for either of them and last night Maura had almost insisted that Jane find some release before she spontaneously combusted.

Maura had selflessly made love to Jane - albeit with well-disguised reluctance - aware that she herself shouldn't orgasm just in case one or more of Jane's little eggs fell out. Maura knew they _couldn't_ fall out, that was just how Jane had phrased it, and as she had explained to her concerned girlfriend, if eggs _could_ fall out, very few women would ever become pregnant at all.

And although Jane had climaxed, to her it wasn't the same if Maura couldn't as well, so now she felt guilty on top of everything else. The mood in the Rizzoli and Isles household wasn't much better than the mood in Homicide.

At breakfast she and Maura had pancakes and coffee- decaf for Maura, extra strong for Jane - although, wired as she was, did she really need more caffeine Maura wondered. She thought better of voicing it, so instead she suggested Jane go to the shooting range sometime soon and let off some steam by blowing cardboard heads to smithereens. Maura would partake of some gentle yoga and meditation, but nothing too strenuous as per Dr Meyers orders.

"We _so_ fit the stereotype Maura," Jane said, laughing at the image.

"Well we could always swap" suggested Maura, "you go to yoga and then meditate, and _I'll_ go and blow someone's head off... I think I'd benefit from that right now." and the glare she gave her girlfriend told her she was in no mood to be disagreed with.

They left for work separately, each under a slightly different cloud. Jane's main problem was this case, something about it didn't sit right with her and she couldn't figure out what that something was. Her other concern was Friday, day fourteen. She hadn't prayed in years but right now she'd promise never to call Bass a turtle again if it meant Maura was pregnant. Just the thought of what it would mean if she wasn't was enough to bring a lump to her throat. She didn't honestly know how much longer she could stay positive, even for Maura.

Maura swung in to the garage and took a few moments. She wished she hadn't had the pancakes, what she really wanted was bacon. It was a silly thing to get worked up about and she could buy bacon later on her way home. But her lachrymal glands had a mind of their own lately and she'd find the smallest things would set her off.

She was stressed, she knew this, and the sooner the test could be done the better, whatever the outcome, and she wasn't sure she could wait another two days.

But she knew that if the outcome _was_ negative, then she and Jane had some serious choices to make.

~ 0 ~

"Yes!" Jane shouted and fist pumped the air, her relief evident. "Finally we got something!" The DNA sample Maura had taken from the knuckles of Trey Harrison had produced a match. The delay in obtaining the results had been because of a fault in the FBI's CODIS system, and Maura's team had to resubmit the sample, losing them days of valuable time. But now it looked like they might find a name at least.

She grabbed Maura, kissed her full on the lips and almost ran out of the ME's office, shouting back to her "Frost's gonna want to see this...thank you Maura!" and she was gone, leaving just a faint hint of her perfume in her wake.

Maura breathed in deeply to savour the scent she loved so much - it was just so..._Jane_. She was disappointed to realise it wasn't her usual scent, or if it was they'd changed it somehow. Either way it was quite disagreeable to the ME and she scrunched her nose at the offending odour.

She made a metal note to ask Jane what new perfume she was wearing.

The ME had several tests she should be running, from various cases, but she used her powers of delegation to keep her team busy. Maura had a far more important test to run - this one marked urgent.

~ 0 ~

When Jane arrived back upstairs she strode purposefully towards Frost and Korsak like a woman on a mission. She placed the file on Frost's desk, and waited for him to come off the phone.

"DNA results from Trey's knuckles came back, _finally._" she said to Korsak, who nodded, and beckoned her over.

"He's talking to a friend of one of the victims, said he has some new information." Jane eye rolled him and frowned, "Left it a little late to come forward." she replied as Frost hung up.

"Hey Jane" he said, "that was Brian Marshall, a friend of Trey...said Trey called him on the day of the shooting. Some guy had broken down and Trey and his friends offered to help him push his car to his lock up. They'd be late for their first class and would he cover for them. That was about a quarter to nine."

Jane and Korsak looked at Frost incredulously. "And he remembers this now? Jesus, what took him so long?" Jane threw down the pen she had been chewing in annoyance, just missing Korsak. "Sorry" she said half smiling. Korsak nodded, used to her little outbursts of frustration, even more so recently.

"I know, he doesn't sound like the sharpest tool in the box" said Frost, "he said he 'kind of forgot'...and he's been on a bit of a drinking binge since Trey was killed so he's been out of it more than he's been in."

"That all sounds too good to be a coincidence doesn't it?" asked Korsak. "All three killed that morning, all helping some guy push his car."

"Korsak," Jane said as she remembered something from the scene all those days ago - now a light bulb had come on. "There are lock up garages around the corner from where we found the bodies." Korsak and Frost eyed each other. "I remember because when we left we had to take the scenic route out of there 'cause of all the bystanders." Her mind was suddenly on high alert. "I don't suppose he said anything about the car did he? We couldn't be that lucky." Frost smiled knowingly.

"Well we can actually... Trey told him it was an old Mustang, said he wouldn't mind buying it off the guy as a repair project." Frost looked at Korsak, and then to Jane- this was a break in a very frustrating case, and they could see each others brains ticking over.

Jane was about to say something else when she suddenly remembered why she'd rushed back upstairs.

"Oh, damn Frost" She exclaimed excitedly, and almost leaped across to her colleague, " the DNA on Trey's fingers, CODIS came up with a match, can you run this? It could give us another break" and she gave him the file from the desk.

" Okay, let's see if he's is in the system" Frost entered and scanned the profile into the computer as Jane took up her usual position, standing watching the multi screens on the wall in front of them. Korsak came over to join her, grateful that at last something might be happening with the case.

"I hope he's in here Jane, if we can tie a name to the car or the garage, we might be about to get lucky" Korsak said, his eyes trained on the screens. He turned to Frost. "Can you find out who owns those garages? If he rents one we may get a match to a name on the rental list" Frost immediately started typing again. "On it"

Within a minute he had what they needed. " They're owned by the City, looks like they rent them out by the quarter. If we get a name from the DNA I'll get a search warrant organised from Judge Allen...he _likes_ me" he said, smiling widely.

Ever since they'd discovered that Judge Eugene Allen was a cross-dresser who also went by the name of Eugenia, Frost had found him very obliging with things like search warrants. When Frost called him 'Ma'am' it just about made Eugenia hug him with joy. Getting a warrant shouldn't be a problem at all.

They watched the screens as the system scrolled through profile after profile. It wasn't like the cop shows on television where the computer finds a hit in ten seconds - it was slow and precise as it compared hundreds of thousands of profiles.

All they could do was watch...and wait.

~ 0 ~

Meanwhile, in the Medical Examiner's lab in the bowels of Boston Police Department, another kind of result was being waited for, and as Maura tried to busy herself with shoe shopping online, and not count down the seconds, she mentally chastised herself for being so impatient. Like a child waiting for Christmas, it couldn't come soon enough.

~ 0 ~

In a lock up garage in downtown Boston, Adam Wheeler knelt at the shrine he'd created all those years ago. Photos adorned the walls, and quotes from the Bible on Post It notes were stuck in seemingly random places.

In the sixteen years he'd been waiting he'd had plenty of time to become even more sad, bitter...and angry.

He'd attended all the parole hearings, had voiced his opposition, along with the victims family, to the murderer ever being released, and had smiled in satisfaction when his request was repeatedly denied. At the last hearing he'd assumed the routine would repeat itself, with 'parole denied' being stamped into his prison file again.

The three boys had been a complete accident - when his car had broken down they'd offered to help him push it back here. They weren't supposed to see the gun, but pushing the car had accidentally popped the trunk and he'd panicked, and had no choice but to use it on them, especially as one of them had started throwing punches. Killing _them_ was something he would never forgive himself for.

He stared at the pictures of his dead girlfriend, she was so beautiful, so pure, and the world hadn't left it's mark on her yet. They were happy, what did it matter if their skin was a different colour as long as they loved each other? Tears slowly fell as he remembered the day he found out about Deanne, her lifeless body thrown out with the trash in a dumpster.

Now, out on parole, having somehow convinced the prison authorities he was no longer a risk, Leon Ward was going to pay for what he had taken away from Adam.

Adam had been watching Leon since he was released from prison two weeks ago, and had seen how he'd returned to the Ward family. The man had killed his little sister but his lonely, widowed Mother had allowed him back, something that Adam thought he'd never be able to understand.

He made sure the lock-up was secure and headed off to find his prey.

~ 0 ~

Jane stared at the name on the screen - Adam Wheeler - and racked her brain trying to remember where she knew the name from. As Frost delved further into what little information there was, her memory of yesterdays chat with Frankie came back to her and she finally made the connection.

"Frost, run a name for me will you?" Frost nodded, sensing that Jane's gut was telling her something. "Leon Ward... he was jailed in '97 for killing his sister...it was my first big case." She chewed nervously on her cheek as Frost pulled the records up and they read intently. _Granted parole July 25th 2013, released into the custody of Mrs April Ward, mother, July 30th 2013._

"What's the date today?" Jane asked solemnly, now sure her worst fears were about to be confirmed.

"August 12th" Korsak replied, "Why?"

"Oh Jesus... it's sixteen years to the day that Leon Ward killed his sister Deanne...Adam Wheeler was her boyfriend...he's going after Leon...and I don't think it's to give him a welcome home cake...he's probably gonna try and kill him."

~ 0 ~

Maura made sure her office was tidy before heading upstairs to find Jane. She wasn't sure if this was an appropriate time to tell her, but the mood she was in she didn't think she could put it off any longer. She called out to Susie that she wouldn't be too long and then stepped into the elevator.

On the way up she played out telling Jane in her mind, not sure how she would react...maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

As Maura's elevator went up, the other elevator came down. Angela stepped out and looked around. She rarely came down into the bowels of the building - it was bad enough _working_ with a stiff like Stanley, the thought of being surrounded by them gave her the willies.

She spotted Susie who smiled and came over to meet her.

"Mrs Rizzoli, what brings you down here, are you looking for Jane?"

"Actually no, I know she just left with Sergeant Korsak and Frost...I was looking for Maura actually, is she here?" Susie shook her head.

"You've just missed her, it looked like she was going upstairs...maybe to see Detective Rizzoli?" Angela frowned, they were like ships in the night these days.

"Would you mind if I leave these cakes in her office? I know she loves them...actually she told me she can't get enough of them!" and Angela beamed that famous Rizzoli grin at Susie.

"I'm sure that's fine, she should be back fairly soon I think, if you'd like to wait." The older woman shook her head and looked aghast at the idea.

"No, Mr Stanley thinks I stepped out to go to the ladies room, if I'm not back in five minutes he'll probably dock my pay or something." and she half smiled, knowing that he _would_ actually do that. "I'll just leave them and go." Susie nodded okay, and left Angela to play The Good Samaritan.

~ 0 ~

Jane found Frankie coming back in as she, Korsak and Frost were about to leave the precinct. She had an idea and grabbed his sleeve to stop him. She told her old and new partner to go ahead and wait while she spoke to the newly promoted Detective.

"Hey little brother, remember that case I told you about, where the guy killed his Sister?" Frankie nodded keenly. "Sure, I went and looked it up after you'd gone. It was huge."

He'd actually spent a few hours looking at the details of the case, and the transcripts of Jane's interviews with Leon Ward. It was fascinating to see his sister bring him down...she really was one of the best.

"Yeah, well...how would you like to come along for the sequel?"

~ 0 ~

Angela surveyed Maura's office. It seemed bigger than the guest house she lived in. 'I guess that's what you get when your the Chief Medical Examiner' she said proudly to herself. She was enormously fond of Maura, she was like a daughter to her and when she and Jane finally saw sense and became a couple - officially - Angela couldn't wait to tell Carla Tallucci the good news - she had a Doctor in the family!

She looked around to make sure she was on her own and pulled out Maura's chair. With a final glance she slowly sat on The ME's official throne. Yep, Jane had fallen on her feet here that was for sure.

She couldn't resist a little swivel of course, and then another and on the third dizzying turn her arm caught a paperweight and it rolled onto the floor. She quickly bent down to pick it up, keen not be caught swivelling like a child in the Chief Medical Examiners chair, when she noticed something next to the small trash basket...something long, white and pink in the middle. Several more were in the trash basket...at least... ten?

"Oh... My... God..." and she dropped the paperweight plum on her foot...and she didn't feel a thing.

~ 0 ~

Maura was informed by Lt. Cavanaugh that she and the others had caught a big break in the case and were on their way to get a search warrant before they try to apprehend Adam Wheeler. Disappointed to have missed her, she went back out to the squad room and sat in Jane's chair.

This is where they spent so much time lately, it seemed like a home from home, and she could feel Jane's presence.

She desperately wanted to speak to her girlfriend, and as she thought it her cell phone chirped with a text message.

_Hey Maur, thanks to your DNA sample we got a name and we're heading downtown now with Frankie to find him. I'll see you soon I hope, and yes of course I'll be careful! I love you. _

She digested the message, knowing it could be an age before she came back. Sighing, she sent Jane a reply.

_Ok, I may have gone home, but keep me updated please. I have something to talk to you about. Stay safe and I love you too. M. xxx_

The fates were conspiring against them it seemed. Her news would have to wait, and she headed back down to morgue. And as she pushed the down button of one elevator, Angela Rizzoli pushed the up button of the other...although she probably could have floated back up to the Cafe.

~ 0 ~

Jane and the trio of other detectives had found Adam's garage, and with no sign of him anywhere they forced the lock open.

As they stepped inside it was like a shrine to his dead girlfriend. The walls were adorned with photographs of him with Deanne, smiling for the camera, looking happy and totally in love with each other. Her old school bag and even some of her books were there. It was if time had stood still for the last sixteen years, and Jane was concerned about the state of Adam's mind. He'd possibly already killed three boys, who was to say he wouldn't go on a shooting spree and take out more innocent people?

They had a BOLO out for the old blue Mustang, which they were able to confirm was still registered to him - it was the car he and Deanne used for dates to the Drive- In. A quick search found some ammunition for a handgun, and they were fairly certain it was the same type used in the shooting. Jane had already decided their next move.

"What do you think guys, shall we head to Leon's home? I think it's a fair bet that's where Adam's gone."

Korsak agreed, and called dispatch to send some more officers to meet them there. If there was going to be a stand - off, they needed to be prepared.

Frankie pulled Jane to one side, he needed to know something.

"Janey, is it okay to be..._excited_ about this? I can almost feel the adrenaline pumping...is it okay to feel like that?" Having made it to detective status he didn't want to be the one weak link in the chain.

Jane put her arm around him, knowing exactly how he felt - it could have been her talking all those years ago.

"Yeah Frankie, it's normal...it shows you're alert...that you got your thinking head on..." They walked over to the unmarked car.

"Just make sure that you've _still_ got in on when some crazy assed killer's firing back at us...that we have each other's backs... okay little brother?"

Frankie nodded. This was his first big case of this kind...Detective Francesco Rizzoli Jr was about to come of age.

"Yeah Sis, I'll have your backs."

~ 0 ~

Angela Rizzoli could gossip for Boston - this was a known fact, and one that wasn't even worth disputing.

When her friend Mary Ann was pulled over for a DUI and had to take the Sobriety Walk, Jane knew about it before Mary Ann did. But given that Mary Ann was approximately four times over the legal limit and had once rolled into church drunk, and tried to make off with the collection plate, she didn't really know much about anything.

When her sister in law's cousin was arrested for shoplifting in her local Target store, Frankie had already heard about it from his Ma before she was taken in to be booked - and _she_ lived in New York.

Yes, Angela had a real problem keeping secrets...and _this_ one was a doozey!

~ 0 ~

**Let me know what you think, I honestly value all your thoughts. Now, who's ready for chapter six?...exciting times lay ahead! See you there.**


	6. Angela nudges as Maura fudges

**At chapter 5 I said I'd like to get to 100 follows, and blow me down, here we are at 110 as of tonight! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read my nonsense - it really does mean the world to me. And here we are at chapter 6, and I have to say this was the most challenging chapter of anything I've done so far...remind me never again to put a crime into a story based on a crime drama!It's been a nightmare! And anyway, who watches for the crime anyway? Huh? Anyone? Nope.**

**It's taken longer because of the move and packing and all that horrible real life stuff that gets in the way, and it's a longer chapter because so much happens! But I think it's become my favourite as well. **

**Let's find out what exactly shall we?**

** As usual, I own nothing, blah blah blah.**

In the two weeks since Leon had been released, April Ward had more conversations with God than her son had enjoyed prison dinners - and now she was struggling with being stuck between the Devil and the deep blue sea.

On the one hand Leon was her son, her first born, and a God-fearing woman like April had been taught from an early age that forgiveness, like charity, begins at home.

On the other hand, for the last sixteen years April had tried to live with the fact that her son had killed his own sister, her baby girl Deanne, and forgiveness, however noble, had never truly been forthcoming. During those sixteen years she had lost her own sister and, more recently her husband. Still a grieving widow, having now lost the two people closest to her - who gave her life any meaning at all - she had dreaded the day that Leon might be released.

She had visited him in prison, once a month, every month since he was sentenced, at first because she felt it was her duty as a mother and as a human being to give him the chance to repent his sins, to turn over a new leaf...to come back to the God he had worshipped - and feared - as a child. At each visit she hoped he might finally tell her how sorry he was, how he'd never wanted his mother to feel like she was losing her daughter again and again every time she looked at Leon. But at each visit, he'd just bemoan his lot in life and gruffly thank her for the cigarettes she'd brought for him.

Not once had he ever apologised or asked her, or her God, to forgive him.

Now Leon was back, released into the custody of his mother, to return to the 'family home', a condition of his parole. She hadn't wanted him here, she could have stood up and said 'actually, I don't want him anywhere near me'...but instead she prayed that he may _finally_ have changed his ways, like he told the Parole Board. But the angry bruise on her cheek kept reminding her that in fact, Leon's behaviour had gone from bad to worse.

Now racked with enough guilt for all the other churchgoers combined, April was a woman walking a very thin line between love and hate...for her son, her dead daughter, the Church, and most of all, herself.

'Thou shall not kill'...honour thy father and mother'. The words swirled around her mind in a never ending circle of doubt and confusion. How could she honour her daughter's memory _and_ forgive her son for what he'd done - a son who seemed to not even want forgiveness? And how was she supposed to call herself a Christian when the person she should be able to love unconditionally and perhaps in time, forgive...was the son she'd actually grown to hate?

As she waited for him to return from checking in with his parole officer, April finally decided enough was enough - she was going to talk to Leon...and this time he was going to listen.

~ 0 ~

Maura made her way back to her office with a mixture of excitement and annoyance. Of the ten pee on a stick tests she'd taken, nine had all said 'pregnant'. (the tenth was probably the one that she'd had a problem peeing in a straight line with, by then she herself was turning pink with the effort.) She'd noticed her sense of smell and taste had changed over the last few days, and how tired she'd been feeling - sure signs that something was changing in her body. Although she was ninety nine percent sure she _was_ pregnant, there was always that one percent of doubt.

There was a small chance that there was still some residual hcg, or human chorionic gonadotropin - the pregnancy hormone - in her system, from before the embryo transfer, which could, theoretically, give a false positive reading. Only a blood test would reveal for sure if she and Jane were going to be hearing the pitter - patter of tiny feet. The thought of tiny little toes attached to those tiny feet made her insides dance a jig, but she needed to talk to Jane, and that's where the annoyance came in. She didn't want to disturb the detective now that she and Frost et al were on their way to hopefully find their target, but she was almost bursting to tell somebody.

As she almost skipped into her office she noticed a box on her desk, and was thrilled to see her current favourites - a half dozen frosted topped banana muffins that Angela must have dropped off for her. "Ooh, delicious!" Helping herself to one straight away - 'another sign' she thought to herself, she normally didn't have a sweet tooth, except for fudge clusters once in a while -she munched appreciatively as she found the number for The Meyer Clinic.

She and Jane already had an appointment booked for Friday afternoon when the two week wait would be up, but she was hoping she could bring it forward. Idly wondering if six am was too early as she dialled the number, she noticed the contents of her desk had been moved. Restoring the paperweight to it's rightful position she observed a tiny chip had appeared on it, as if perhaps it had been dropped.

Frowning, she sat down in her chair and found she had to adjust the height - 'strange' she thought, 'that's not how I left it'. But it was when she looked down to throw the muffin case into the trash can under the desk and saw the discarded stick tests that she clasped her hand to her mouth in abject horror, as she put two and two together and came up with "Angela!...oh my god no!"

In her excitement earlier she hadn't disposed of the tests properly and now with the cakes, and the chair and the paperweight as evidence, it all pointed Detective Isles to the one person you wouldn't want knowing Maura might be pregnant - the one person who, in Jane's words 'couldn't keep a secret to save her life'...Angela Rizzoli.

Maura decided there and then that this was one truism she needed to disprove...and fast.

"Hello?...is there anybody there?... this is The Meyer Clinic...hello?"

~ 0 ~

"Blue Mustang Jane, just over there!" Frankie had spotted the car as they swung around the corner onto Prospect Road, home to the last of the Ward family. As Jane pulled up nearby, they quickly observed two things - firstly the car seemed to be empty, with the windows wound down but with the engine still running.

Secondly, as they turned their attention to number 2325, the end house in very long row of wooden fronted homes, they saw Adam Wheeler slowly walking along the sidewalk, almost at the front path to the house.

"Damn it" Jane said quietly, "I hoped we'd be able to avoid this" She used the car radio to advise the uniformed officers who were coming as back up that the suspect was at the address and to approach without lights and sirens, and to park out of sight until instructed to do otherwise.

Believing that he had a gun, and that the only residents were Leon and his mother, the four detectives had only seconds to come up with a plan - that didn't involve spooking Wheeler into doing something rash - they had no idea if Leon or his mother were even at home. They were parked far enough away from the path to the house for two of them to head round the back of the property unseen by Wheeler, and hope they could gain entry there - the other two would try and stop Wheeler before he got to the Ward's door. Korsak and Frankie got out of the car quietly and quickly crossed the main road onto the side road that led directly to the rear of the house. Jane and Frost headed across the road just as Wheeler rang the door bell, and they ran towards the suspect hoping to stop him in time.

"Adam Wheeler!" Jane shouted out to him and he quickly turned around on hearing his name. "Boston PD, we are armed officers, please step away from the door and place your weapon on the..." Before she could finish the sentence the front door suddenly opened, and Wheeler, sensing this was his only opportunity quickly turned back around and grabbed April as the startled woman just looked at him with a mixture of fear and confusion.

"Shit!... hold your fire Frost!" Jane exclaimed as Wheeler immediately pulled a shocked April in front of him and dragged her back into the house... with the cold barrel of a gun aimed at her ribs.

~ 0 ~

By the time Angela reappeared at the Division One Cafe, Stanley had considered sending out a search team to find her she'd been gone so long.

"And don't think of taking another unscheduled break Rizzoli, or I'll dock you the full hour." he said angrily and he stormed back into the kitchen flicking a tea towel back onto his shoulder.

Angela was oblivious to all of his bluster. If the fire alarms went off now she probably wouldn't notice, and as she stood at the counter wiping clean the same spot over and over, she daydreamed about what she'd just discovered - she was going to be a Grandmother again. Jane and her Doctor girlfriend were making her a Grandmother again. Her genius daughter in law was having her second grandchild...and with genes like that it was gonna be the smartest Rizzoli ever, possibly even Harvard standard, and certainly BCU. A lawyer maybe, or even a Doctor like it's mother. No, why stop there, maybe even the United Nations, or The President of The United States!... oh boy, just wait until Carla Tallucci hears about this, it'll knock her son Anthony's new Lexus into next week!

"Mrs Rizzoli"

Getting no answer from the woman sporting a smile as wide as Texas, he tried again. "Er, Angela? Are you okay?" Lt. Cavanaugh said quietly to his sometime, on-off, 'girlfriend', not wanting to appear too intimate with a co-worker. Angela looked at him blankly for a second, still wiping that same spot into oblivion, before coming out of her trance with a shake of her head. "Huh?... sorry ...Sean, er I mean Lt. Cavanaugh...what can I get you again?" she asked dreamily. It was Cavanaugh's turn to look confused.

"I didn't order anything yet, but can I get a skinny latte to go please?"

"Sure thing Sean, I mean Lieutenant... one skinny latte coming right up." and as she busied herself with his coffee and Cavanaugh busied himself with waiting, she thought about how times, and modern men had changed.

"You know, if my ex, Frank had asked for a 'skinny latte' back in the day, he would've been ripped to pieces by his co workers," she laughed as she handed the Lt. his coffee.

"It just goes to show how times have changed doesn't it?" Cavanaugh wasn't quite sure where she was going with this, but knowing Angela, there must at some point _be_ a destination, so he smiled and nodded.

"I mean, these days real men can order a skinny latte without getting looked at funny... they can wear pink" (Cavanaugh checked - nope, not pink.)...babies can be born out of wedlock and nobody says a word... _even_ _if they're parents are the same_ _sex..."_ she said pointedly as she looked at the Lieutenant, "Hell they can even get married."

Cavanaugh's ears pricked up, and as he handed Angela the money for his non- fat, non-anything skinny latte with extra nothing he leaned in towards Jane's mother.

"Are you telling me what I think you're telling me Angela?...are Jane and Doctor Isles..._you know_.." and to illustrate his vague question he quickly nodded his head sideways twice as if he'd developed a nervous tic. Angela leaned in closer to the Lieutenant to whisper back, being the soul of discretion that she was.

"Oh, Sean, I can't tell you anything..._I'm not supposed to even know_...but I'm sure if they are you'll be among the first they'll tell!" she said, barely containing her excitement. She was proud of herself, for once, technically at least, she hadn't actually said anything, about anything, to anyone, even though it was on the tip of her tongue to just come right out with it.

Never let it be said that Angela Rizzoli couldn't keep confidences.

The Lieutenant smiled, and thanked Angela for the coffee. It wasn't often he was privy to 'office gossip', knowing full well he'd generally be the last to know about anything. But this, oh, this was big, and it was about time too, he thought to himself as he walked back to the squad room, with more than a hint of a smile on his face.

"Finally... someone's gonna make an honest woman out of Rizzoli"

~ 0 ~

Maura made her way out of the elevator and headed to the Cafe, intending to speak to Angela, and if necessary tape her mouth shut if it meant her not saying a word about her 'possible' pregnancy- certainly not until she'd spoken to Jane, and had it confirmed on Friday. She had almost made it when she was stopped in her tracks by her cell phone and her pager going off simultaneously. Torn between which way to go she looked at the pager first - it was a message from Susie - apparently Dr Pike had messed up some tests on a recent case and she was needed urgently in the morgue to avert all out anarchy amongst the Lab Techs.

She then looked at the text message on her phone - it was from Jane. A slightly garbled and obviously rushed message read...

' _Hosted situation downturn, gonna b l8, massage u when I can'..._

A slightly confused Medical Examiner headed back to the morgue, to try and stop Dr Pike being strung up by his 'colleagues', and, bemoaning Jane's lack of typing ability, sent a frustrated reply.

_'I only really understood the going to be late part of that message, so just keep in touch and please, keep safe. I love you.'_

She was never going to actually speak to Jane at this rate, and she'd planned a lovely meal as a backdrop to the big reveal. This day just seemed to be going from bad to worse.

When she returned to the morgue she could already hear voices becoming raised and tempers obviously getting lost, and she then realised she'd forgotten to speak to Angela ...Dr Pike had better value his assets, she thought to herself as she sighed wearily and bravely entered the ring.

~ 0 ~

On Prospect Road, things were moving at quite a pace. As soon as Wheeler grabbed April and took her inside, Jane and Frost called for all the back up units to come to the house, and take position at the front and rear. They had a tricky situation on their hands, and if bloodshed could be avoided, all the better.

Jane really wasn't in the mood for this, and sent a quick text message to Maura telling her she may well be late. She didn't know why, but she'd felt a strange need to be with Maura all afternoon, and this was just going to delay her seeing her girlfriend.

She put that out of her mind as she and Frost directed the assembled cast for the drama happening right now. She called Korsak to see what was happening round the back.

Korsak and Frankie were at the back door of the house when they'd heard the commotion inside. With a clear line of sight they could see Adam Wheeler leading April through the house, stopping in the living room and depositing the woman on the couch. They'd spotted his gun, and noticed that of the two, April seemed calmer than Wheeler.

"We can see 'em Jane" Korsak's voice was almost a whisper, the glass in the window was thin and they could hear Wheeler talking, which meant he might hear also be able to hear them. He nodded to two uniformed officers who appeared from nowhere, both armed, and who took up position either side of the door waiting for instructions.

"He looks agitated, but he doesn't seem to be threatening her at all...looks more like he hadn't planned on Leon's mother being there...if he'd really planned it at all" Korsak suspected that like a lot of things in life, not much planning had gone into this - Wheeler was looking for Leon, not his mother.

Frankie listened to Korsak's half of the call as he watched Wheeler talking to April. They seemed to be very calm considering he had a gun in his hand, albeit not actually pointing at her. He tried to make out some of what they were saying by lip reading, something he'd been able to do since high school, not always successfully it had to be said. He could make out a few words easily- 'sorry', ' I loved her Mrs Ward', and what looked like 'wanted to make him pay for what he'd done'. He couldn't make out what April was saying as she was sideways on to him. He relayed this to Korsak as he spoke to Jane.

"Frankie says it looks like Wheeler's apologising to April Jane...if he's right he really didn't want this to go this way... is there any sign of Leon? It's him he wants...we don't want Wheeler to panic now and use April as a shield to get to him...he may well be sorry for what he's done but he did kill those boys, there's no saying which way he'll go" Jane chewed on the inside of her cheek as she listened and began to formulate a possible plan.

"No, no sign of him yet, I'm hoping we can head him off before he gets too close." She'd had an idea, which had worked for them before, and it did seem that as Wheeler wasn't exactly a seasoned pro at all this, it might just work this time. She ran it by Korsak.

"Do you think you could get into the house without him seeing you? I'm thinking of phoning April... if he lets her answer it we could distract him long enough for you to disarm him...what do you think, can you see a phone anywhere?"

Korsak scrunched his eyes up, and was loathe to admit it, but he couldn't see that far into the house at all...those windows really needed a good clean.

"Frankie, do you see a phone anywhere in there?" he asked gruffly.

Frankie peered in, and spotted the elusive phone straight away. Grinning, he told Korsak where it was. The uniformed officers were smirking either side of him as well - but he didn't see that either, thankfully.

"We're in luck, there's one right by the couch" He considered his next words carefully, knowing his sister may not be comfortable with his suggestion. "I think we should send Frankie in Jane...if that's okay...let's face it, he's quicker than me...and possibly quieter...he has his vest and if necessary he has his weapon.."

The detective didn't have to time to think about him as her brother and pushed the thought to the back of her mind - Frankie was a Detective now as well, and as such was expected to go into potentially hostile or volatile situations. They all had his back, and this would be a good test of his mettle.

"Yeah, okay, could you put him on?" Korsak handed Frankie the phone and stepped aside.

"Hey Janey, I can do this...I'm ready" Adrenaline was starting to pump through him, but he controlled it, knowing what was at stake - not just for them, but for April Ward who was still being held by a possibly deranged gunman.

"I know Frankie, and you'll be fine... just do as I tell you okay? I want you to go in now, just keep out of his view and get as close as you can to the lounge door...when I call he's gonna jump and maybe panic, and he may not let her pick up...if he does that's when you move...if you can get him from behind without him seeing you that'd be great, just make sure that April is out of harms way okay?" Frankie nodded and "uh huh'd" a lot, with Korsak listening at his ear.

"The uniforms will follow you in with Korsak, and they can take care of April...if Wheeler tries anything and you have to take evasive action then you know what to do... aim your gun straight at him...and only fire if you have to...okay Detective? Are you ready to go in? "

She exhaled deeply, the sister in her coming to the front of her mind, just briefly.

Frankie looked around to the other Officers and Korsak, nodded and he silently and slowly opened the door... " Yeah Janey...uh, _Detective_...I got this...I'm going in"

~ 0 ~

Having finally brought order to chaos in the Crime Lab, and averted a full scale mutiny to boot, Maura was pleased to be heading home, even though it would be alone, as Jane and Frankie were still at the Ward home. She hoped to a higher authority that it ended with neither of them getting hurt - as much as she loved her girlfriend, Jane's propensity for getting herself injured in the line of duty bordered on carelessness.

She tried to dismiss the idea of Jane coming home wrapped in bandages again and just hoped it wasn't a Rizzoli trait that Frankie might try and emulate.

And if she saw that idiot Dr Pike anywhere near her morgue in the next few days, then he was liable to end up on one of her tables - not the most charitable of thoughts she'd ever had, but at the moment, in the mood she was in, she'd had just about enough of the inept Medical Examiner and his alarming lack of attention to detail. He made one of Maura's terrified new interns look accomplished.

She really couldn't wait to get home and lay in a warm bath, minus the glass of wine, and minus Jane, unfortunately.

She was in the process of leaving a note for Jane on her desk in the homicide Department when Lieutenant Cavanaugh came out of his office, and headed towards her. He was talking on his cell phone, and waved for her to stay.

She found Jane's secret stash of fudge clusters and popped one in her mouth just as he finished talking on the phone and started talking to her.

She offered the bag to him, but he politely declined.

"No, thank you Doctor, I'm trying to limit my sugar intake," he said and he patted his stomach to illustrate the point.

"Very wise Lieutenant" Maura replied through fudge clustered lips, " I pwobably should follow your example, as a pwevious Wellness Captain, but at the moment I can't seem to wesist temptation." She laughed, looking slightly guilty. The Lieutenant smiled back knowingly.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry Doctor, I'm very good at keeping secrets, just ask Mrs Rizzoli!" and he half laughed and gave her a small nod that seemed to say 'I know something I'm not supposed to know'. Instantly Maura froze, and gulped down the remains of the fudge cluster.

"Oh no, don't tell me Angela's already spilled the beans?" she blurted out, surprised that she'd actually said it, she was sure she'd only thought it.

"It's okay Maura, I know it's a secret, and I can be very discreet" and he leaned in and placed his hand on her arm - much to her surprise, she had no idea he was so tactile. " I just want you to know that I'm pleased for you both, and it's about time too...you've been together long enough now to make that commitment to someone else...do you have a date yet? " Maura stood open mouthed, not quite believing she was having this conversation with Sean Cavanaugh of all people. She hadn't even told Jane yet, and she wasn't even a hundred percent sure that _was_ pregnant.

Admitting defeat, and not wanting to bring on a case of hives she said the only thing she could say..."about nine months I would assume Sean." She smiled meekly at him, and shrugged as she helped herself to another fudge cluster.

The Lieutenant smiled back, this time helping himself to the candy, and nodded in understanding.

"Wow, that's a..._long_ engagement"

They both looked at each other in equal amounts of confusion, and for a while neither spoke. Until it dawned on them that they were having two entirely different conversations.

"You're _not_ getting married are you Maura?"

"No Sean" she gulped, the curse of the fudge cluster striking again..."but I _might_ be a little bit pwegnant"

~ 0 ~

Frankie was almost to the side of the door to the lounge when April caught sight of him in her peripheral vision, and gave him an almost imperceptible nod. She calmly carried on talking to Adam, not making it known to him at all that she had seen the detective and his gentle nod back to her. April was one cool customer Frankie thought as he came in on the end of their conversation... 'and a helluva lot calmer than I feel' as his heart rate increased. It sounded like Adam was crying, and April calmly got up off the couch, walked over to the man with the a gun now held loosely in his grip, and took him in her arms. Frankie leaned round the doorframe and watched the scene, incredulous at what he was witnessing, and felt the same reaction from Korsak and the uniformed officers.

At the woman's touch Adam began to sob into her shoulder, and soon enough he was crying like a small child, who just wanted his Mom to comfort him. "I'm so sorry Mrs Ward.. I never" his breath hitched as his sobs came harder..."I never wanted to hurt those boys...they were just in the wrong place...I just wanted Leon to know what he did...what he took from me...from _us" _The house phone had started to ring but neither of them seemed to hear it, and for a second the detectives were at a loss of which way to go, but April, the woman who'd lost all her family, including Leon, knew exactly what to do.

"I know, it's alright baby...God _will_ forgive you Adam...you just have to _ask for it_..that's something I'm afraid my son will never do." and she reached down and cool as you like took the gun from the sobbing man's hand and, turning slightly, held it out for an amazed Frankie to take.

Korsak called Frost immediately to tell them to stand down, and that the suspect was now in custody. He went in to the lounge, and waited until Adam had let go of April before taking out his handcuffs. He ushered the now crying woman out and Frankie led her out to Jane and Frost.

As Korsak formally arrested Adam Wheeler for the murder of Trey Harrison, Michael Watts and Marlon Samuels, and informed him of his rights, a uniformed officer led him outside to a waiting car - as Jane walked in to meet Korsak, looking somewhat bemused.

"Korsak, what...I don't understand... what exactly happened here?"

He scratched his head in thought for a few seconds, still not quite understanding what had happened himself.

"Jane, if I told you, you wouldn't believe me..."

~ 0 ~

Two days later at the Rizzoli and Isles residence in Beacon Hill, Maura was leaning against Jane in a bubble filled bath, drinking orange juice from Champagne flutes. Small candles adorned the floor, and the ceiling lights had been turned down low.

As they basked in the afterglow of spending the afternoon making love, and making plans, and then making love again- just because they could - they didn't need words, or actions, or gestures of any kind to communicate with each other.

As Jane's hand gently massaged Maura's flat belly, she imagined doing the same thing in a few months time, maybe talking to the baby that had already become about the size of a very small grain of rice, well, according to Doctor Meyer anyway. She was lost in her thoughts of Maura and the baby, and she was happy to stay lost for as long as possible.

Maura was thinking about the events of the last two weeks, and how those events had gotten worryingly out of hand more recently. She had finally caught up with Angela and sworn her and Cavanaugh to secrecy until she had told Jane her news. Which wasn't until almost two in the morning the next day, by which time Maura was so tired she'd almost forgotten her own name.

It was only when Jane crept into bed beside her and wrapped her arms around her that she came to enough to think. She slowly leaned down to the side of the bed, letting Jane roll with her, found the box she'd hidden, and rolled back again.

"I've moved our appointment forward to eight o' clock on Friday morning Jane. I hope that's okay." and she yawned as Jane rolled her eyes -she'd hoped for a lie in, but for Maura she'd make an exception, and she wasn't surprised anyway.

" I knew you wouldn't be able to wait until the afternoon, little Miss Impatient!" and she smiled smugly behind Maura, safe in the knowledge that even _she_ didn't have eyes in the back of her head. Maura rolled over to face Jane, with a look of guilt all over her. She handed Jane the box.

"Open it...but please don't be mad at me!" Jane eyed her girlfriend suspiciously. "Why...what did you do?" and as she took the lid off the box her jaw dropped. " Well it looks like you robbed the drugstore...oh my god Maura, are these all...how many tests did you...are they all..._oh my god_"

Maura smiled at the look of stunned amazement on Jane's face. "Ten...I took _ten_ tests...and they _all_ say...that I'm pregnant Jane, each and every gorgeous one of them" and she started to talk faster and faster.

"But we still have to wait for the blood test on Friday as they could theoretically be false positives because of all the hormones I took and it might not..." Jane silenced her babbling girlfriend with a finger to her lips. It wouldn't be the first time, and it certainly wouldn't be the last and she 'shushed' her for good measure.

"You're pregnant Maura...I just know it..."

When Doctor Meyer confirmed it at 08.48 on Friday she couldn't recall seeing two more radiant women in all her time at the Clinic, and she left them alone to let the news sink in...this was _their_ time, and she wouldn't dream of intruding.

~ 0 ~

**Yay! Aw, hope you're pleased for them. Please let me know what you think. It looks like fun times are ahead for our ladies...and the little passenger. See you at chapter 6!**


	7. Reflections'

**After the dramas of the last chapter I thought it would be nice for Jane and Maura to have this one to themselves, as they come to terms with their exciting news. I hope you enjoy it, feel free to review, it does make my day when you do, and thank you all so much for sticking with the story. **

Chapter seven

Friday August 14th

"It's a Thursday".

Maura stared at the screen on her phone, her eyes wide, almost transfixed - as if time had paused, just for these few moments. Jane was equally mesmerized as she watched her girlfriend scroll through the calendar to 2014.

"April the seventeenth...it's a Thursday" she said, nodding gently, their smiles mirroring each other.

The two women sat, almost disbelieving of what they'd heard, but it seemed neither of them wanted to break the spell of this milestone in their lives. So they both just quietly mulled over the news that Dr Meyer had given them a few minutes earlier - Maura was indeed pregnant, and the latest addition to the Rizzoli-Isles family would be making it's arrival in April next year... TJ, and Jo and Bass would have a new playmate.

As so often before, they held each others hands throughout, a habit that was as natural to them as breathing, with Jane as usual gently smoothing her thumb over Maura's soft skin. At times of joy, or sadness - or any time the earth revolved around the sun - this contact with each other was something they both subconsciously craved - and if it was suddenly taken away, even for a moment, they would both feel a small sense of loss. And right now, with their hearts hammering so loudly that Jane, for one, was sure Maura must be able to feel the vibration through the couch, they were holding on to each other for dear life.

"We're having a baby Maur... "

Jane's natural gift for being a woman of few words hadn't deserted her, and even if she _was_ capable of finding anything more erudite to add she was feeling too dumbstruck to actually form the words - 'so come back next Thursday if you want deep and meaningful, for now I'm just going with this'.

"We're having a baby Maur." and she left it at that, going with the tried and trusted soothing thumb on Maura's skin routine - it was as comforting to Jane as an anchor in deep water.

Maura meanwhile, for all her 'I did ten pee on a stick tests and all but one said I was pregnant' was also having a hard time taking in the news - this was their third attempt, and the first to get this far. As a cautious scientist she knew there was a _small_ chance the tests could have been wrong - and that all the hormone injections she'd had prior to the embryo transfer could have falsely raised her hcG levels, and cruelly mimicked pregnancy.

But as a woman, and a very self aware one at that, she just _felt _different inside- which of course went completely against her 'I never listen to my intestines Jane' philosophy (and if Jane found out she'd never let it go)- but as if a sixth sense had kicked in she was almost sure she was pregnant. That tiny element of doubt was enough to make her now very glad she'd been sitting down when Dr Meyer broke the news. She felt sure Jane would be wafting smelling salts under her nose and picking her up off the floor.

Grateful that Jane was holding her hand - although she couldn't think of a time today when they _weren't_ tethered to each other- she looked down at her phone screen, processing the time frame.

In nine months she and Jane would be in a birthing suite, with Jane no doubt shouting encouragement as Maura gripped her hand so tight she may have Jane - shaped imprints for days. She smiled at the thought and gave a small laugh.

"What's so funny?" Jane asked, still smoothing her soft skin.

Maura paused and thought for a moment. She'd wanted this for so long, all of this - Jane, and their life together, and then possibly, if they were _really_ lucky, a family. And now here they were on the brink of bringing a new life into their small but perfectly formed world, one that really would be a part of both of them, that would complete the circle. As the tears welled, Maura couldn't think of a time when she'd felt more love for anyone, as she did for Jane right now.

"Nothing really...and everything ...just promise me you won't let go Jane...for the next nine months, just don't let go."

~ 0 ~

When Sabine Meyer gingerly opened the door to her office and looked in, she almost felt as if she were intruding, as she watched Jane and Maura standing in the middle of the floor, just holding each other. Like the slowest of slow dances, they gently moved together to a silent symphony of their own heartbeats - the cork had finally popped under the pressure of their bottled up emotions, and only now could they let go of some of the tension and anxiety they'd been under for so long. Oblivious to the world around them, Sabine didn't have the heart to disturb such a moving scene and she slowly crept back out. "Another five minutes maybe."...and she smiled to herself as she raised her coffee cup to a picture of her parents - she knew exactly what this meant to the Doctor and her Detective.

~ 0 ~

On the car ride home, after getting some breakfast, Jane and Maura were excitedly making plans for the day ahead - and what they had planned had frustratingly been put off for the last two weeks - and of course plans for the pregnancy. Maura was actually three weeks and five days pregnant, a fact that seemed to have Jane scratching her head, as it had only been two weeks since the procedure was carried out. It was an exact calculation worked out specifically for frozen embryo transfer patients, and in effect it meant Maura was more pregnant than she actually was.

When Sabine was explaining all this to them, Jane had begun to phase in and out - there were various reasons why she was a detective and not a science geek like Maura, and right now, excitement was the main one. By the time Sabine had finished her 'idiots guide to due dates' routine, and Jane had phased back in, it was too late. She nodded her head at Dr Meyer when she'd asked if she understood or had any questions, but of course she hadn't and now didn't want to look like the 'idiot' who had to ask.

'Anyway, I have my very own doctor to explain it all' she thought to herself.

"So, I don't get why you're not say... two and a bit weeks pregnant, as it's been two weeks since my eggs went in." she stated, rather simplistically for Maura's liking. The doctor tried one last time to explain - Jane may be a brilliant detective but sometimes...

"Try this as an analogy" she glanced across..." are you actually listening?" Jane nodded, and a slight smirk appeared on her face as she turned to Maura. " I'm all ears Doc" and she turned back, checking her mirrors and her speed - suddenly having an extra passenger on board had turned her into an advanced grade driver.

"Okay, you know those ready made meals you used to be so fond of?"

"Yes. ...yes I do, and they were delicious...god I miss them..." she sighed, still smirking.

"Mmm, well they may have been delicious, but that's beside the point...my point _is_, they were already cooked and fast frozen, ready for you to reheat and eat...all the hard work had been done for you."

"Yes it had, and when I was single and coming in at all hours they were a quick and easy fix...I'd never have eaten if it wasn't for those...and Ma of course." It was amazing how Jane's freezer had seemed to magically refill itself each week with Angela's lasagne, or gnocchi or meatballs.

"Well, let's be thankful you don't have to resort to TV dinners now...anyway, where was I?...oh yes, well, like those ready meals, your eggs were fast frozen and fertilized before they were transferred...all the hard work had already been done. By the time they'd burrowed into my uterus, technically I was already pregnant...now, does that make more sense?" and she gave Jane a look that said 'if you haven't got it now then there really is no hope.'

Jane looked across at her girlfriend, her smart, gorgeous and now _pregnant_ girlfriend, and a proud smile seemed to cover her entire face.

"How did I get so lucky Maura?...oh and _yes_, I've got it thanks...but how did I get so lucky to have you?" She sought Maura's hand without taking her eyes off the road- they seemed to have a magnetic attraction of their own, naturally finding each other. "I still have to pinch myself you know...that we're together...that you felt the same way I did." and as she drove she shook her head slightly, as if she _still_ really didn't understand the notion of Maura wanting to be with her.

As Maura gave Jane's hand a gentle squeeze, she wished her girlfriend would have more faith in her 'desirability', but then, that was one of the many things that made her so attractive to Maura - the fact that she was refreshingly unaware of her own beauty, inside and out.

"Jane, do you remember when you came to the morgue in that little black dress, after your mother set you up with Joe Grant?"

Jane visibly balked at the memory. The 'date' had been a disaster and she'd instead gone to see Maura, complete with the flowers he had brought with him and a very good bottle of wine. It had seemed perfectly normal at the time to turn up at the morgue in her one and only LBD, brandishing flowers for her best friend at ten o'clock at night...didn't all best friends do that?

"Of course I do, I much preferred seeing you, even then...and I was mad at Ma for organising it without even asking me, I mean, Joe was nice enough...but he wasn't you Maur..." And there was the lopsided grin and the sparkling dark chocolate eyes that could make Maura melt instantly.

"I've never told you this before, but _that's_ when I realised I was falling in love with you Jane...because you came to see me at work, after a bad date...just because you wanted to spend time with me." As she looked across at Maura, still not quite understanding the significance, Jane could see her girlfriends features had softened as she recalled the momentous event. Before she could ask why that night was the clincher, Maura continued.

"You could have just gone home and called me to say how it had gone, but you didn't, you _came_ to me instead...and you brought me flowers."

This brought a surprised, but embarrassed smile to Jane's face. She hadn't even bought the flowers herself.

"Well, I didn't want them to go waste...and I knew you loved flowers... even if they were second hand."

"But that's just it Jane...I don't think 'best friends'...and remember that's all we thought we were at the time...I don't think one best friend drives all the way across town after a bad date, to see the other...not with flowers in their hands, regardless of where they came from. It was such a sweet gesture, and I don't think you even realised how it might look to the recipient...to _me_. But I just thought it was such a lovely, unconscious thing to do, and it showed me that on some level, you cared enough for me to do that...and that you _wanted_ to do that told me that I might have a chance with you after all." Jane laughed at the thought of Maura wanting her, when all she'd wanted was Maura.

"Yeah well, I've told you before that I didn't think I had a chance with you...jeez Maur, when you look at us now it's hard to believe how bad we were at picking up clues...I'm a detective, you're a genius and we _still_ had no idea. It's embarrassing really...".

She turned off the main road and as they approached their house Maura had one last thing to remind Jane of.

"There was one clue I gave you Jane...well not so much a clue...more like a brick around the head." Jane actually knew what it was, but she still liked to hear it anyway, especially from the love of her life, and even more so now they were safely home and she could show Maura exactly how much she liked to hear it.

"Oh yeah?" she asked with an overly curious tone, "and what might that be I wonder..._Doctor_ Isles?" There was a lot to be said for being an MD, and even more for the way it sounded when a certain husky toned Detective said it like that- why, it was almost indecent. She turned to Jane, her eyes slightly hooded, but her dilated pupils most definitely betraying her mood...

" Mmm, fishing for compliments are we Rizzoli?" She unbuckled her belt and leant in close enough to an equally betrayed Jane to whisper seductively in her ear.

"If I recall correctly I said..._you're gorgeous my friend_...and I meant it ...and I still do, I think you're more beautiful now than the day we met."

The whisper turned into a gentle moan as she placed soft kisses from Jane's ear, down and across to the corner of her mouth, where she stopped, teasing her girlfriend into trying to sneak a full kiss.

"Shall we take this inside..._detective_, so I can show you just how beautiful I think you are?"

Their lips met, and in that one moment it was like the heavens colliding as weeks of pent up desire and need came to the surface. After a few minutes making out, Jane reluctantly pulled away, breathing heavily, but with enough of her faculties working to remember they were still in the car on the driveway.

"I think maybe we _should_ go inside Maur ...what I plan on us doing for the rest of the afternoon isn't exactly suitable for the neighbours...well, all except George and Marjorie at 1129, but we're not supposed to know about that" Jane put her finger to her lips and shushed Maura, and they both laughed - George and Marjorie were at least eighty five with failing eyesight and half a dozen prosthetic joints between them..."C'mon, lets go in."

~ 0 ~

As they walked in to the house, Jo Friday came scurrying to meet them at the door. Bass moved slightly slower, if at all, but Maura was sure that the thought of moving at least, was there. After taking Jo out for a quick walk, where the conversation was obviously dominated by talk of the baby and what plans they needed to make, and even some vague ideas of which schools to send him or to, they were now safely back at home.

Jane ran an overly hot bath for them - it would give them plenty of time to do other things as it cooled down, while Maura found some champagne flutes and filled them with orange juice. She wasn't going to drink alcohol again until the baby was born, which was a shame because she had a very nice bottle of red that she'd been saving for a special occasion. But that was a small price to pay for the even more special occasion they would be celebrating in nine months time.

She went to the bedroom to change out of her clothes and found Jane standing in front of the mirror, seemingly just staring at her reflection, with her hands on her hips - she looked lost in her thoughts and Maura was careful not to make her jump.

"Penny for them." Maura said quietly and made her way to her girlfriend.

"Oh, hey Maur." Jane acknowledged her girlfriend with a faint smile, but her tone definitely sounded a little flat to Maura's well trained ears. Sensing there was something bothering Jane, she stood behind her, and gently slipped her arms around her waist.

Planting a long kiss on her shoulder she felt Jane's arms wrap themselves around her own. " You okay honey? You seem a little down." They looked at each other in the mirror, with Jane's eyes darting between the two of them.

" No, I'm fine Maur...I was just thinking... I wish our baby could look like _both_ of us...I know there's a good chance he'll look like me 'cause we used my eggs, but I wish he could look like you as well...so everyone could see that he's _both_ of ours."

The Rizzoli side of her family had very dominant features and Jane would have liked them to be softened a little with some of Maura's. But although Maura would be carrying the child, her genes wouldn't be passed on to it.

But that fact wouldn't make Maura any less the baby's mother.

" When I was growing up, people would always assume that my mother...Constance I mean, was my birth mother and would often comment on how alike we looked." Jane nodded, still gazing intently on Maura. "But it was just a presumptive comment based on what they perceived to be true... Jane, people see similarities in others because they _assume_ they should... but even if Constance did pass on her genes, there's only a slightly higher chance that we would look alike...it's not set in stone."

She loosened her grip and turned to face Jane, but still kept their hands together. Jane's expression had softened as she took in what Maura was telling her, but the doctor could tell she wasn't altogether convinced. There were times when Maura felt that the Rizzoli trait of a slight mistrust of science could be a little frustrating.

" Jane, this baby _will_ be a Rizzoli... using your eggs will mean that he, or she, will be a part of you no matter what." Jane was going to say that she knew that, but Maura was on a roll and continued.

"And I'll be carrying this child, so we'll always share that unique bond between us... but I can't imagine feeling more proud just to be carrying _your_ child, and it wouldn't matter if it were a Rizzoli or a... or a"... it was on the tip of her tongue, Jane just knew it..."ooh, I know...a Darwin!" and she and Jane both laughed as Maura brought Jane's hands to her belly.

"My point is - before you say you were wondering if there was one- is that this child will be a part of both of us, and people will always see what they want to see... but they'll _know_ that we both love him or her more than anything in the world...and that's far more important to me than who the baby resembles." And she stopped to draw breath, she wasn't accustomed to not being interrupted.

As far as Jane was concerned, Maura's speech was one of the nicest things she'd said since 'yes Detective, I'd love to go on a date with you.'

Pulling Maura in to her they kissed, and somehow managed to end up lying on the bed, facing each other. Jane moved Maura's hair to one side tucking it behind her ear, and rubbed her cheek softly with her thumb.

"You had me at ' penny for them' Maura, but thank you...and I hope that this baby somehow inherits your big brain, and not my stupid pride...now, I seem to remember saying I had plans for this afternoon...and now we're here I have every intention of seeing them through..."

Maura's already shining eyes quickly lit up to the point where now they were positively gleaming.

"Well if you insist Jane"

"Oh I do...but I should warn you doctor," she kissed Maura's cheek..." I have no intention of leaving this bed until we've well and truly made up for the last two weeks"...then she kissed the other cheek..."I hope you that meets with your approval" and she found Maura's neck, and stayed there...

"Oh, I'd say that should more than make up for it...you have my approval..oh!..." Jane had found her collarbone now and was apparently heading south...

"Good...and I just hope George and Marjorie can keep up with us..."

~ 0 ~

**It's getting harder to keep this story within the limits of the K-T rating, so I figured we'd leave the rest to our imaginations. It'll be full steam ahead in the next chapter, with the Rizzoli's ...and the Isles' lurking around every corner. Hope to see you at chapter 8. **


	8. Wonderful baby

**Sorry it's taken so long folks, the house move went smoothly but I then spent a week trying to kill myself (long story ). As a result I kinda lost my Mojo for a while, so a big thank you to my muse Louise for helping me find it again.**

**Anyway, here's chapter 8 at long last. We've moved on a bit time wise, I had to, it'll be years before we finish otherwise! **

**Thank you to everyone who's been following the story...I appreciate you sticking with it- it's a labour of love (sorry, bad pun)**

**I hope you still like it.**

Chapter Eight

Nine and a half weeks later...

"You know, I could swear this magazine was here the last time we came." Jane put the copy of 'Homes and Gardens' back on the table and continued to fidget - patience never was one of her finest virtues.

Maura sighed quietly to herself and dipped her hand into her bag. She pulled out a copy of 'Weapons Weekly' and just managed to stop short of thrusting it at Jane - an action not lost on the antsy Detective.

"It's the latest edition...and there's a fascinating article on page fourteen on the benefits of firing ranges to combat stress...perhaps you should read it while we wait." she said, almost too serenely, and continued reading a case file she'd brought with her. Jane's detective skills couldn't fail to notice the exaggerated tone of her girlfriend's voice - she knew she wasn't good at waiting for anything, and today's first sonogram had meant she'd been on edge all week. Jane looked around at the other people in the waiting room and kept her voice low.

"Sorry Maur" she said as she flicked through the magazine, "And thank you. I know I'm a little cranky today" Maura looked across at Jane with her eyebrows raised high enough for them to meet in the middle, and Jane caught 'the look' head on. "Alright, maybe _more_ than a little cranky... and I'm sorry, I'm just nervous I guess...I tried not to be, but as soon as I woke up this morning it was all I could think about." Jane gave the magazine back to Maura and sighed heavily. "Tell me it will all be okay Maur...I had another strange dream last night and it's left me feeling...weird."

Maura took Jane's hands in hers; she'd known that Jane had been having these dreams for a while now, but over the last few nights Jane had been waking up in a sweat and obviously troubled - when she did eventually get back to sleep it was fitful at best. Maura had asked each time she too was woken up by Jane's restlessness to tell her about them, but each time she was just told to 'go back to sleep and look after the baby.'

"Jane, I can't promise you that everything will be fine, because it may not be...I'm thirty seven, and while that in itself isn't old, it does mean I'm at a slightly higher risk of...complications." She sought out Jane's eyes, and saw the tiredness and worry deep within them. "But, whatever happens I'm staying positive that we'll get through now, this moment, this sonogram... and deal with whatever happens when, and if it does happen. That's all either of us can do."

Jane had listened intently and nodded in all the right places - the last thing she wanted to do was upset Maura, which was why she hadn't gone into any detail about the dreams which had been keeping her awake.

It also didn't help her mood at all when she saw a car that was _surely_ in the wrong place on the way to the clinic this morning.

But she knew Maura was right- there was nothing they could do now to change anything, and she was probably worrying for no good reason. So why did she still feel such a nagging uncertainty about things?

Whatever the reason, now wasn't the time for a deep and meaningful conversation about her dreams and fears so she kissed Maura's hand and flashed her best 'it'll be fine, really' smile at her girlfriend.

"You're right, and I'm just being overdramatic...as usual. What will be will be, right?" and she and Maura nodded in agreement...if only Jane could believe it.

~ 0 ~

Angela Rizzoli was a happy woman - her 'daughters' were going to make her a grandmother again, Stanley had gone down with a stomach bug and had left her in charge of the Cafe, and if that wasn't enough she had a man in her life. As Sean headed to the shower, Angela set about making them breakfast, with one eye on the pancake batter and the other on Maura's driveway.

Jane and Maura knew that Angela had been 'seeing' Sean for a few months, but not that they were now _'seeing'_ each other - in the biblical sense. Sean had told his now 'girlfriend' (and would that ever sound right to him, at his age?) that he wanted to keep his private life out of his public domain...he was Jane and Frankie's superior, Angela worked at the Division One Cafe at the precinct...the situation had 'awkward' written all over it - for all involved. Sean was also aware that Angela, sweet as she was, had trouble keeping _anything_ quiet. He only had to remember the embarrassing moment he discovered Maura may be pregnant to know that she'd have trouble keeping their relationship under wraps - he wanted to share it with the rest of the world when he was ready, and not before.

He'd told her that he hadn't really had any long term relationship with anyone since his beloved wife and son were killed many years ago, and that he needed to take it slowly. The fact that it had been Maura's biological father who'd been revealed as the man responsible for his family's death was just another tick in the 'awkward' column.

Angela herself had reservations about Jane knowing the full extent of her feelings towards Lieutenant Cavanaugh. Since the acrimonious divorce from Frank Senior a few years ago, Jane hadn't had any contact with the father she'd grown up idolising. She may have called him a 'fool' to go chasing after what she had at the time referred to as 'that blonde slut', but Angela knew that deep down, Jane was still hurting - though she'd never admit that to her mother.

She also knew she may have a reputation as a gossip or a 'loose lipped Lulu' as Frank had called her, but when it came right down to it, she knew her daughter - and Jane, although a grown woman with her own child on the way, would still find it hard to have Sean Cavanaugh as a potential step - father.

The only other real cloud on the horizon was the slight 'faux pas' she _may_ have made when she spoke to Constance Isles last week.

Constance had called Maura at home out of the blue, and Angela had answered while the girls were out walking Jo Friday. They'd chatted for a while and Angela thought it was odd that Constance hadn't mentioned the baby at all.

When she happened to let slip that she'd started ordering yarn from Amazon again, Constance had seemed surprised...

"Oh, that's nice...are Thomas and Lydia expecting again?"

Wait, has Maura not said anything to her own mother yet?

"Um...no...not Tommy.." Angela sounded confused, she knew it, but just couldn't stop herself in time. "Constance, when did you last speak to Maura?"

There was a loud silence at the other end of the line, until Constance finally spoke.

"Two weeks ago...and I'm presuming that the yarn isn't for Frankie either..."

'Loose lipped Lulu' had struck again.

As Angela flipped Sean's pancakes and poured his coffee she watched as Jane and Maura pulled out of the driveway. Sean had parked his car away from the house, and on the opposite side of the road so Jane wouldn't see that he'd stayed the night- and had done more than just flip his pancakes.

As he came out of the shower she ushered him over for a good morning kiss.

"The girls have just left, so we're safe honey...tuck in!"

If only Lieutenant Cavanaugh had known 'the girls' were heading to the Meyer Clinic this morning, and had passed his car on the way.

~ 0 ~

"I've warmed the gel Maura, but it may still feel a little cold. Are you ready to see baby?"

Both Jane and her girlfriend had waited for what seemed an eternity to get to this point in a pregnancy...they'd been ready since Christmas.

"Yes...please Sabine" they both said excitedly and at exactly the same time. Maura thought to herself that they sounded like a couple of children on Christmas morning, waiting to find out what Santa Claus had left for them - and she knew that Jane's Christmas's were always far more enjoyable than hers had been. She'd kept her emotions in check for so long, not wanting to add to Jane's anxiety, that it was only now that she actually started to worry that all may not be well. It was for this very reason that she hadn't told her parents that she was pregnant - she wanted to get past the crucial first sonogram before they told anyone else.

Sabine Meyer gently placed the probe against Maura's belly and rolled it around as she watched the monitor. The image on the screen was like the snowy image on a television screen that didn't work anymore - grey and grainy.

"I don't see anything Doc...should we be able to see anything yet?" Jane asked, her worry belied by her unusually high voice, and she gripped Maura's hand a little tighter.

"It can take a while for an image to appear Jane, don't worry..." Sabine calmly rolled the probe around for what seemed an age, and the tension in the room was palpable - Jane could feel Maura's hand shaking, or was it her own?

Finally the snow cleared and a shape could be seen on the screen - a small, fuzzy but _definitely_ baby shaped image...

Gripping Maura's hand so hard she was in danger of cutting off their circulation Jane and Maura stared at the screen. Gradually a three dimensional picture appeared, and for a few moments all rational thought had disappeared from Jane's mind. She was awestruck, dumbstruck and every other kind of struck as their shadowy baby moved around a little on the screen.

Eventually Jane's thought process and power of speech returned to her, though it was debateable as to whether it was working at full throttle.

"That's...it's...that's our baby Maur..." she stuttered, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, so she did both as she leaned over to kiss Maura's temple and hold her girlfriend so tight they were practically one being.

Maura hadn't said a word because she physically couldn't...the lump in her throat felt as big as a football and the silent stream of tears that were trickling down her cheek were about to become a torrent. Seeing arms and legs and a head a little nose was all too much to cope with and she let out a loud sob and cried like never before.

Now, finally she could let go of all the emotion she'd held in for so long. She and Jane just held each other as Sabine checked the image over and twiddled with various knobs and buttons.

This moment, this part of the journey was what made her career so worthwhile. Something so longed for and seemingly so unattainable as a baby meant the world to all her patients. And it meant the world to Sabine that she could this for Jane and Maura as well. She continued her medical ministrations, as she knew they were oblivious to all of it just now anyway.

After a few minutes of sobs and nose blowing the happy couple were eventually able to look at the screen without bursting into tears again and actually focus on their baby.

"You'll be very pleased to know that everything looks fine, and everything's in the right place and working as it should. Your baby can swallow and kick, all it's organs are fully formed...it even has fingerprints Detective..." Jane looked in awe at their baby's tiny fingers, she couldn't count all of them, they kept moving and disappearing.

"Really? Fingerprints at what...twelve and a half weeks? Wow, that's amazing...it's just amazing isn't it Maur? That little nugget there is ours."

A thought suddenly occurred to Maura as she nodded in agreement, looking at the screen and also trying to count limbs and fingers.

" Can you tell what sex it is yet Sabine?" She looked at Jane guiltily - they had decided to wait until it was born before they found out, feeling that the experience would be all the more magical with the element of surprise.

"Really Maura? Do you want to know?" Jane asked -she sounded a little disappointed. "I thought we'd decided to wait."

Sabine wasn't paying attention to their 'will we or won't we' debate, she was looking at the screen again, this time more intently- she'd thought it was just a shadow...and was surprised to realise she'd spoken the words out loud. Maura and Jane exchanged an anxious look between each other, sensing something had changed in the doctor's demeanour.

"What is it doctor?" Maura asked cautiously, "Is something wrong?"

Sabine knew she'd better tell them before they started fearing the worst...

"Well, I can tell you the sex of _one_ of them Maura...the other will have to remain a surprise for a while longer..." She looked at the Doctor and her Detective as what she'd just said began to dawn on them. Smiling broadly and nodding her head at them she confirmed her suspicions.

"I wasn't sure at first, it looked like a shadow from the wall of the uterus, but there are definitely two heartbeats... and if you look closely the first one has moved a bit...see...two babies...congratulations ladies...you're expecting twins."

Jane and Maura stared at the screen again, eyes wide and mouths open, not quite believing what they were seeing. They knew there was a high chance of multiple births with IVF, but for some reason they'd only ever thought of 'the baby', rather than 'the babies'. The news hit them like thunderbolts and for a while they sat in silent contemplation. Two babies changed things dramatically and Jane suddenly had a thought.

"Hey Doc, you're sure it's just the two in there aren't you? There's not another one tucked round the back or anything is there?"

Sabine and Maura both laughed at Jane's question, the look on her face was one of mild panic and Sabine assured both women there were just the two.

"So, would you like to know the sex of the first baby? I can't tell you the other one yet, but if you'd like to know..."

Jane and Maura huddled together, looking for all the world like two contestants conferring before answering a question on a quiz show.

They eventually pulled away with big grins as they both said ''yes" excitedly.

"Alright then...well, Nugget is an appropriate name ladies...he's a boy"

Sabine left the room to organise Maura's chart and some pictures for them to take away...well, that's what she told them, but actually it was because she really hated to see grown women cry that much.

~ 0 ~

Angela was ready for her girls when they arrived at the Cafe later that morning...she was dying to know how they got on at their appointment.

Armed with coffee and green tea and some of Maura's favourite muffins she sat with them as they briefed her with the details.

At the word 'twins' she almost spontaneously combusted, and her screams of delight could probably be heard down in the morgue...by the dead.

"Ma, you need to keep this quiet for a little while longer okay?" Jane whispered determinedly, " we still need to tell Constance and Richard and Frankie and Tommy before we tell the entire known universe."

At Constance's name Angela suddenly looked guilty...very guilty.

"What Ma, what have you done?" She looked at Maura who just gave a weak, worried smile back at her.

"I know that look...it's your 'I've done something and you're not going to like it but I'm your Mother and you know what I'm like' look...c'mon Ma, spill. What have you done?"

"Sweetie I'm sorry...it just kinda slipped out...I thought she knew" Angela squirmed with discomfort as she glanced sideways to another table in the Cafe.

"You thought who knew Ma? Is it Carla?" Jane asked, her tone becoming more irritated the longer this went on. She looked up and saw a familiar figure heading towards them.

"Hello Darling, hello Jane...is there something you'd like to tell me?"

Maura gasped in shock.

"Mother!"

~ 0 ~

**I never knew him, he never knew me, but he was a huge part of the reason why I do this...RIP Barold.**

**I hope you liked it...see you at number 9?**


	9. Revelations

**Thank you so much for your continued support of this story - your reviews leave me with a happy heart, and the follows and favourites have just blown me away. This chapter is a longer one, and there are some interesting times ahead...I hope you enjoy it, and as always, please review if you can.**

**~ 0 ~**

Constance Isles was the last person Maura had expected to see in the Division One Cafe this morning, and, if she were honest, the unassuming Cafe was the last place Constance Isles expected to be as well. But, there she was, and it was apparent that she already knew about the babies... or at least one of them.

" May I join you darling?" she asked a slightly flustered Maura, who was now standing alongside Jane to greet her mother - unscheduled visits were not the norm in the Isles' family, and certainly not to Maura's place of work. After kisses to two sets of cheeks Constance looked around for another chair - Angela quickly procured a spare from a nearby table, discreetly wiping the seat with a tea towel she'd had draped over her arm, before motioning the elegant woman to sit down. Constance gave her an appreciative smile and a "Thank you" - and Jane observed this rather sweet scene with an amused half smile.

It seemed an almost unconscious action, but all the same, it irked the Detective a little that her mother even thought to clean the chair in the first place. It smacked of reverse snobbery, as if somehow Angela thought Constance's smartly dressed behind was 'better' than those of the Cafe's usual clientele.

This was Constance Isles, not the Queen of England, and as Constance sat with her extended family in the almost deserted Cafe, Jane wished her mother would remember that the Isles' were not _actually_ related to the Royal Family in any way...at least, not that she was aware of..._but she might just check that with Maura later._

" What are you doing here Mother?" Maura asked with an almost astonished tone. " I thought you were in Switzerland with father."

Angela decided that this was the perfect opportunity to thwart Jane's inevitable attempt to interrogate her as to how she let slip about the baby - so before Constance could speak Angela got in first.

"Can I get you some tea or coffee Constance? We have chamomile or fruit tea, or I can brew a fresh pot of coffee for you...now that Mr Stanley's laid up with the...with a _stomach_ bug, our beverage selection is so much more interesting." she said proudly.

" A pot of tea would be wonderful Angela, thank you, English Breakfast if you have it?" Angela thought for a few seconds before smiling and nodding. "Marvellous, and these muffins look _delicious_, are they home made?" Angela continued to nod proudly.

"They sure are, Maura's taken a liking to them, so I try to keep some here for her...you know, just in case."

Jane glared at her mother - it was frosted topped banana muffins that led Angela to finding out Maura was pregnant - and then to somehow letting it slip to Cavanaugh - it was time they officially let Constance in on the good news as well.

"Ok Ma, why don't you go and rustle up that tea for Constance, I think we have a few things to talk about here." she said, as patiently as she could while glancing at her watch.

"And after I've finished some paperwork I have to be in court, so I don't have much time."

Angela headed out to the kitchen, leaving Jane and Maura to talk to Constance...or rather, to explain.

"It's lovely to see you both" she said, emphasising 'lovely' and smiling warmly at her daughter and Jane, "and it's just a flying visit I'm afraid - literally. And yes, we _were_ in Switzerland but your father had some unexpected business to take care of in New York... which apparently wouldn't wait" she rolled her eyes and shook her head, giving Jane cause to smile - eye rolls were usually _her_ forte. "So I thought I'd fly down and catch up with my favourite daughter...or should I say my favourite _pregnant_ daughter?" and she took Maura's hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze. "Darlings I'm so thrilled for you both!"

Suddenly Maura was filled with an unexpected surge of love for her mother - but also one of guilt - it had been three months since she'd seen her in person, and the last phone call was more than two weeks ago. Neither she or Jane had said anything about finally being pregnant, and now it seemed that Angela had done it for them. She hadn't realised until now how much she'd missed her - having her here seemed almost serendipitous, but she needed to explain exactly why they hadn't said anything to her yet.

.'Oh, damn these hormones' she thought to herself as she felt her eyes mist over. She swallowed hard, not wanting to give in to her emotions again - lately she found herself crying over the smallest things. As she blinked the impending tears away she composed herself... and an apology.

"Well, it's lovely to see you too Mother, and I'm _so_ sorry we didn't tell you about the baby, we just wanted to make sure that everything was okay before telling _anyone_." She looked to Jane for back up - it may have been the truth, but they hadn't been entirely honest with her. Jane took Maura's hand, and that was enough to set Maura's lachrymal glands off again - this time a tissue was needed, which her resourceful mother provided, while Jane continued with their apology.

"I'm guessing my mother told you about our appointment today?" Jane said, with an exasperated tone. Constance nodded, almost apologetically as she picked at her muffin.

"It figures...she really cannot keep a secret to save her life! Well, we've just come back from the clinic, and we'd actually planned to call you this evening. We've had our first sonogram and everything is absolutely fine" she said to a relieved looking Constance, who was now enjoying her muffin with gusto.

"And I'm glad you're sitting down because it's _babies_ rather than just one...Maura's expecting twins!" she said sounding slightly amazed. Constance looked at them both like Jane had told her they were having a Martian...and her banana muffin very nearly went down the wrong way.

"Twins?! Oh darlings that's just wonderful...oh congratulations, you must be so thrilled!" She stood up and Jane and Maura each received a hug and a kiss. "Maura, your father will be so pleased, I know you'll find it hard to believe, but he was so excited to learn he was going to be a Grandfather...I suspect he's already updating his will!"

Maura beamed as she thought of her usually unemotional father, picturing him running around his study in celebration. She realised she was missing him as well when she felt the tell tale sting of tears again. 'Oh for goodness sake... surely it can't all be hormonal can it?' she thought to herself. To alleviate the symptoms of her stingy- eye syndrome Maura's mouth decided to go into overdrive instead, as a distraction.

" So how long are you staying? Is Daddy joining you? Do you have somewhere to stay? Because if not we'd be more than happy to have you stay with us wouldn't we Jane?"

Jane and Constance both laughed as the excited doctor stopped to catch her breath. Jane thought this might be a good time to leave mother and daughter alone for a while - Maura was obviously thrilled to see Constance, and Jane could tell by her girlfriends rapid fire questioning that some alone time was long overdue. Besides, she had a few questions for her own mother.

" Of course you can stay with us Constance," Jane said as she stood to leave the table. "And I'm sorry you had to find this out from my mother, she has an amazing knack of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time...but she means well at least." She looked to the kitchen, it had been a while since Angela went to make some tea, and there was a small queue at the counter.

"I'm wondering if she's actually gone to England to get your tea, if you'll excuse me I'll go see what's taking so long." Constance stopped her with a hand to Jane's arm.

" Jane, don't be too cross with your Mother." Constance was well aware that Angela had let it slip, albeit, this time at least, inadvertently.

"She thought I knew...it was an..._understandable_ mistake." she said pointedly.

Jane sighed and nodded in agreement and she headed to the kitchen in search of her errant mother.

Maura looked back at her own mother like she did when she was a child, and she hadn't completed her homework - a rare occurrence, and one capable of bringing Maura out in hives at her mother's disappointment in her.

"I'm so sorry mother, this wasn't how we'd planned to tell you...but after the first two tries failed, we decided not to count our chickens until one had hatched...so to speak."

Constance saw how guilty Maura looked - a look that reminded her that however distant they may be - in miles as well as emotionally - Maura would always be her beautiful little girl, and although she hadn't always been able to show her, she really did love her very much. Now feeling guilty herself, she swallowed the lump in her throat - it was time to put her daughters needs first.

~ 0 ~

Meanwhile, in the Cafe's kitchen, Jane had found her Mother...eventually. Knowing full well they didn't have any English Breakfast tea, Angela had made a mad dash to a nearby store to buy some, and had just returned - out of breath, but triumphant.

"Ma, did you really go and buy tea for Constance?" Jane asked incredulously. Angela nodded as she busied herself with a kettle, and tried to find a teapot. Jane shook her head in disbelief, her Mother really was a one-off.

" If she'd asked for gold plated tea cups would you have run and found some for her? It's just Constance Ma, not Royalty...she's actually very down to earth you know, once you get to know her." Angela found a tea pot- much in need of a clean - and some half decent cups, and assembled a tea tray fit for an Isles.

" It doesn't hurt to make an effort Jane... anyway she's family, and I only ever want the best for my family...I may not always get things right, but _this_ I can do properly..." Jane could see how upset her mother was, and she knew she wasn't referring to just tea. Perhaps she should cut her some slack, just this once.

"I'm sorry I was mad at you Ma...Constance explained what happened...I know you thought she knew. I guess I should've told you that she didn't." She took the tray from the counter and kissed her Mother on the cheek. "Here, I'll take this out, you have some more customers...maybe you can introduce _them_ to the delights of English Breakfast Tea...speaking of which" she continued, with her eyebrows raised and an overly innocent inflection, "does Cavanaugh drink tea or coffee in the mornings...just in case I run in to him at breakfast...?"

And she swaggered back out to her girlfriends table with a knowing grin, while a flustered Angela blushed and headed straight to the waiting line of customers.

~ 0 ~

While Jane was in the kitchen, Constance had an apology for her daughter, and she could also see a chance to have a proper Mother to Daughter chat...something that was long overdue.

"I'm not upset with you darling, I understand why you didn't say anything...it was just a shock that's all." Maura clung on to her Mother's hand, until now her being here was something she hadn't realised she needed.

"And we have a room booked at The Sheraton, but if your offer still stands we'd love to stay with you for the night." she stated hopefully.

Maura was of course delighted - " Oh, Mother of _course_ you're staying with us, it's been too long already...and perhaps you can give us some insights into bringing up children...Jane and I are a little daunted by the prospect of two babies, let alone one!" Right on cue, Jane arrived back at the table with the tea tray and she sat down to join them.

"Thank you Jane...oh, and proper tea cups...how charming of Angela...well, your father will be flying down later, he's _so_ looking forward to seeing you...and Jane of course...he has such a soft spot for his _other_ daughter you know...he would have liked more children I think."

Both Jane and Maura noticed how Constance's tone had suddenly changed on the last part of the sentence - Maura thought she sounded almost mournful and was about to ask if she was alright - Constance beat her to it - she'd not meant to say that aloud.

"So that's settled then, we'll be staying with you tonight...now, Maura, would you like to be Mother?"

~ 0 ~

As Jane sat in the courthouse waiting for Adam Wheeler's sentencing, a myriad of thoughts and emotions were running through her mind.

Thoughts of the day when three innocent lives were taken and Maura had cried over their bodies in the morgue. Thoughts of when Adam had 'taken hostage' April Ward, only for the brave and incredibly forgiving woman to calmly take his gun from him and cradle him in her arms. And thoughts of Maura, and the babies and how unprepared she was to be a parent, and how she was still having bad dreams and waking up in a sweat as Maura comforted her. All these thoughts were fighting each other for dominance and it was no wonder she had the beginnings of a slight headache.

Adam had admitted he'd set out that day to kill April's son Leon in a long lasting final act of revenge for killing his girlfriend, and had admitted to the killings of Trey Harrison, Michael Watts and Marlon Samuels. And this is where Adam's defence team had argued that while he'd set out to kill Leon, the deaths of the three boys had been a tragic mistake, the result of Adam panicking when Trey had spotted the gun in the trunk of his car. He hadn't set out to kill them, and would be living with the guilt that he carried for the rest of his life. They also argued that actually, Adam Wheeler would most likely _not_ have killed Leon if he'd caught up with him - his psychological evaluation after his arrest revealed him to be almost incapable of deliberate harm to others - it just wasn't in his nature. And the remorse he felt for killing those three boys meant that he was on a round the clock suicide watch.

Jane looked across at April Ward and gave her a warm smile. This almost saintly woman had visited Adam in jail on more occasions than she'd visited her own son before he was released. She had tried so hard with Leon, but his stubbornness, and his refusal to acknowledge all that he'd done wrong - and had continued to do- had finally beaten her into submission. She had banished him from the her home, only knowing that he was safe and staying at a shelter in Southie.

To all intents and purposes Leon was a lost soul, and she had finally given up trying to save him, though her Christian beliefs didn't sit well at all with this decision.

Jane had struck up a friendship with April over the last few weeks, and while she could never condone what he'd done, she admired the way April had taken Adam under her wing. It wasn't that April had substituted one son for another, it was just an act of incredible forgiveness and love towards the man who had once loved her daughter so much - they had a unique bond, and April just wished she'd been there for Adam when Deanne was killed, but her grief for her beautiful daughter eclipsed everything else - if she'd been there for him, perhaps things would have been so different.

April had also become a friend to the families of the three boys - having lived through the nightmare of losing her own daughter, she empathised completely with them, and knew they would need all the support, and comfort she could give.

April and Jane headed into the court as the case name and number were called out, and Jane was struck by the older woman's calmness. Walking over and taking her hand in hers, April gently pulled Jane to one side.

" I remember you telling me about your father Jane, and what you and your mother went through when he left... Leon never really knew his own father, he was in and out of jail as I told you... I'm afraid the apple didn't fall far from the tree with that boy."

" I know April, but you did the best job you could...you tried so hard to help him." Jane looked deeply into Aprils eyes, and saw a sadness that she thought would never leave.

April sighed heavily, and nodded. "I did Jane, I truly did... but 'For the sins of the fathers you, though guiltless, must suffer" April quoted. Jane thought about this before replying.

"Leon wasn't guiltless April, no matter what the Bible says."

"That's not from The Bible Jane... it's by Horace, a Roman poet writing centuries before Christ...and I wasn't talking about Leon or his father...I was talking about you." She smiled warmly at Jane, who understood immediately what April was saying. This woman would never cease to amaze her.

" Shall we go in Detective?"

~ 0 ~

While Jane was in Court, Maura was enjoying some quality time with her Mother on Newberry Street, home to some of the most elegant and fashionable clothes stores and cafes. She'd finished up all her current paperwork, and the good citizens of Boston seemed to have put a hold on killing each other, for now anyway, so no new cases had come in. She'd instructed Susie to call her if she were needed, and made sure she knew not to call Pike in - hell would freeze over before she allowed that 'incompetent buffoon' anywhere near her morgue.

Just walking arm in arm with her Mother, chatting and 'shooting the breeze' was something they did so rarely that it was a real treat for both of them. Whether it was her hormones, or just something that happened when you became pregnant she didn't know, but she felt a new kind of closeness to her mother, and a need to have her near. It may only be a 'flying visit' but she was going to make the most of having her here.

After visiting countless stores, they found a cosy looking restaurant to stop at and have a bite to eat. By this time Maura was tiring a little, and was actually hungry for the first time in days - and now she really was eating for two, as well as herself, she dove straight in to the menu.

" I feel like I could eat a horse, I've been feeling quite queasy for the last few days...this is the first day I've wanted something more filling than toast and Angela's muffins." she said to her Mother as she perused the menu. " Do you know, I think I'll have the steak!" she exclaimed, as if this were the most decadent item she could choose. " I haven't had a good steak for ages...and it's wonderfully healthy...yes, steak and salad it is."

She closed the menu forcefully and took a sip of her water and saw her Mother looking back at her with a big smile on her face, which of course made her smile too - she'd always thought her Mother had a lovely smile and it wasn't shown off nearly enough. Constance proudly looked at the elegant woman opposite her, her lovely daughter, all grown up and expecting twins! She thought for a moment her heart might actually burst if she were any more happy.

"It's funny the things you think of isn't it?" she said to Maura, who was still looking at her quizzically. " You remind me so much of your Father sometimes...I remember once we were dining out in what at the time seemed like a terribly upmarket restaurant and he ordered the steak. We hadn't been married very long...I think we were still in the honeymoon phase." She took a sip of water as she laughed at the memory and Maura gave her a knowing look.

"He'd ordered it do be cooked medium- rare, and when it arrived it looked as if it'd been cremated!" She was laughing fully now, which of course set Maura off as well.

"He wasn't as..._assertive_ as he is now, and he didn't want to make a scene so he did his best to attempt to cut into it." Maura was finding it hard to contain her giggles as Constance dabbed at her watering eyes.

"Oh dear...anyway, he stuck his fork in and tried to cut it but it shot off the plate and landed with a thud on the ...on the...table ...next to us...and the poor man was...mortified...he vowed then never to have another steak in a restaurant... " she was on the verge of hysteria now..."if a simple thing like a steak... was in danger of becoming airborne..." and she finally collapsed in a fit of laughter, unable to continue.

Maura couldn't remember the last time she'd heard her Mother laugh like that - it was as heart warming as it was contagious, and the pair of them just sat and laughed as the waitress did a full u-turn and headed back to her station.

When they'd finally calmed down the waitress took their order and the two of them settled into comfortable conversation. Somehow the news of the twins had sparked some life back into their relationship, and brought out the more maternal side of Constance. Maura was discovering a new side to her Mother when she was relaxed like this. When the conversation turned inevitably to the twins, Maura was reminded of something her Mother had let slip in the Division One Cafe.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but did Daddy really want more children? You said something about it earlier and it seemed to upset you. Is it something you regret?"

Maura was worried she'd said the wrong thing as Constance's face told her that it wasn't something she'd expected, or wanted to talk about.

"I'm sorry Mother, that was insensitive..." Constance cut her off mid sentence. It was time to be honest with her daughter, although the timing was perhaps a little unfortunate. She leaned in a little so that the other diners didn't hear anything.

"It's alright darling, really. There's something I've never told you, and I've wondered whether it would make any difference if I did or not. But perhaps it might be beneficial to you...oh I don't know." Maura took her Mother's hand in reassurance.

"You can tell me anything Mother, but if it's too upsetting I'd understand." This visit was turning out to be more of a revelation than either of them had bargained for.

" No Maura, you deserve to know, and you've had your sonogram and everything's fine." She took a sip of water and cleared her throat.

"Not long after we'd got married I...I fell pregnant." Maura looked at her in stunned surprise - whatever it was she'd expected to hear, it wasn't that. She gripped Constance's hand and let her continue.

"It wasn't planned and I had no idea for the first two months...but I...I miscarried at ten weeks, and after some...complications, I was told I couldn't have any more children." Maura's eyes filled with tears as she heard the anguish in her mothers voice.

"Oh Mother, I'm so sorry...I had no idea...please...you don't have to tell me any more..." Constance put her hand up to stop Maura, she wanted to finish the story on a happy note, for Maura's sake as much as her own.

"No darling...it was upsetting at the time of course, and your father and I were in a state of shock for a long time. But then...well then something wonderful came along that brought us more joy than we could ever have imagined...or more abject terror!" she smiled at Maura who in her teary haze hadn't quite grasped what Constance was trying to tell her.

"You darling..._you_ came along and changed everything...and it wasn't until then that I'd even realised I wanted a child." She was fighting back the tears herself now, and of all places in a restaurant with other diners looking on. It was worth it though, if it made Maura realise that she was most definitely wanted - something she wasn't sure her daughter was ever convinced of.

"And I want you to know, that, while I accept I haven't always been the best Mother, or perhaps truthfully, the most _instinctive_ Mother, you've been loved and cherished from the first day we had you...and that never changes Maura, that love for _your_ child never leaves you...and I know when the babies arrive you'll think it's not possible to love anyone more."

It was like a dam had burst at the Isles table and as the waitress headed towards them and saw both women in tears she did another hasty u-turn and headed for the kitchen with the plates.

"Those women on table twenty one are a nightmare...one minute they're laughing their heads off, the next they're in floods of tears...keep these warm will ya? I'll go out in a sec and check on 'em again"

Somehow, the Isles' got through their lunch without more incident and then drove to the airport to meet Richard's flight. It was an unusually enthusiastic Maura who gave her father a huge bear hug when he strolled through the 'Arrivals' exit.

"Well I'm very pleased to see you too darling, what's brought all this on?" he asked a proud looking Constance. She shook her head in a 'I'll tell you later' kind of way, and made her way out ahead of them.

"Oh, Daddy, can't I just be happy to see you?"

~ 0 ~

When the Isles' clan arrived at Maura and Jane's Beacon Hill home it was to the smell of home cooked food and an atmosphere as warm as the day itself had been. Jane and her mother greeted them all with hugs and kisses and showed Constance and Richard to the guest room, where they were invited to rest or freshen up before dinner.

Angela had prepared a feast in a matter of a couple of hours, with Jane's help - and they had used the time together to iron out their differences and bond over Chicken breasts and a glass of wine - not that Maura needed to know that, as she'd vowed not to drink in solidarity with her pregnant girlfriend.

Maura wanted to know what had happened in court - she knew Jane was closely attached to Adam's case and in particular, April.

"What happened today Jane, how long was the sentence?" she asked as she helped Jane set the table, a comforting hand soothing the small of the detective's back.

"Well, he was charged with Second Degree murder, so it was life for each of the boys...but, he will have a chance for parole, so it could have been much worse I guess." she sighed as she thought of the lives ruined by Adam's actions...and the miracle of forgiveness.

"I'm thinking of nominating April for an BPD Unsung Hero Award Maur...if ever there was a woman who should have given up, it's her. She's an incredible lady..."

Maura stopped laying the cutlery out, and wrapped her arms around her thoughtful girlfriend. Today really had been a day of revelations in more ways than one. She and Jane were expecting twins, she'd shared the frankest, most intimate afternoon with her mother, and now her family was all here under the same roof, and she was with the woman she loved - nothing was going to take the memory of today's events away from her.

As she and Jane continued with the table setting, Angela went to answer the door. "It'll be my yarn from Amazon...they deliver at night you know..." she said, almost skipping to the door.

She seemed to be taking her time with whoever it was, and Jane shouted across to her to "stop flirting with the delivery guy Ma."

"It's not the delivery guy Jane..." Angela replied, walking away from the door.

"Well, who is it then Ma? Don't just leave them at the door" Jane said, intrigued by her Mothers expression.

"It's...it's your Father..." she said, almost dumbstruck. Jane turned and walked to the door, with Maura closely behind her.

"Hey Janie" Frank Senior said, his tone full of nervous uncertainty.

"Pop? ...what the _hell_ are you doing here?"

~ 0 ~

**See you all at chapter ten I hope...it should be quite interesting don't you think?**


	10. Home Comforts

**Thanks again to everyone who's following, and, as always, I'd love you to review - it keeps me focused and spurs me on to do better - and it means the world to know you're out there reading along with me. **

**As much as I love fluff and romance, the next two chapters are a little more...angsty. Not majorly, and don't worry, no harm comes to either of our ladies - I wouldn't dare! But, life isn't all sunshine, lollipops and rainbows, and we all have issues and problems to deal with...Jane and Maura are no different. So, I'm afraid Jane is about to come face to face with some aspects of her life that she'd rather not have to deal with...families huh? You can choose your friends...**

* * *

Frank stood at the door looking to his daughter, and then to Maura, and then back to Jane. After her initial reaction to seeing him Jane's first thought was how old he seemed to have become - and how weary he looked.

"I just wanna talk to ya Janie...is that too much to ask?"

Jane stood with one hand on the edge of the door and considered the question for a few seconds, while Maura gently and discreetly rubbed the small of her girlfriends back - she wasn't sure if she should stay or leave them alone. The decision was taken out of her hands when Frank Senior gave a small nod of acknowledgement to Maura.

"Hi, Doctor Isles...I'm sorry to turn up unannounced like this...it looks like I'm interrupting something..."

As Maura half smiled back and was about to reply, Jane took a slow deep breath and then spoke as she exhaled, running her hands through her hair - a subconscious action, but a classic sign that she was agitated.

"You are...what do you want Dad? This really isn't a good time..."

For the sake of Maura, Jane had refrained from saying what she had _actually_ wanted to say, but her tone left her father in no doubt that he wasn't about to be invited in for drinks and a few hands of poker. He looked into the living room and saw Angela pacing up and down - the woman was his wife for forty years and now she couldn't even look at him, he thought to himself sadly.

"I er... I have something I need to talk to you about, but maybe now's not the best time...do you think I could come back some time soon Janie?"

He looked straight into his daughter's eyes as he spoke, and Jane could see that whatever it was, it was important, to him at least. There was something about the way he called her 'Janie' that brought to mind her being a child again, and her throat began to sting as memories of her and her 'Pop' flashed through her mind. Fighting the instinct to just shut the door on the man she used to idolise - and the myriad of emotions that were so quickly fighting for dominance - she glanced across to see Maura give her a tiny smile and a nod of encouragement. Against her better judgement, Jane decided to at least give him a few minutes.

" How long are you in town for? I could meet with you tomorrow evening." she replied, her tone decidedly cool, and her voice sounding - and feeling - scratchier than usual.

Frank's features relaxed a little as he realised Jane had at least agreed, albeit reluctantly - he'd felt sure she was going to say no, although maybe not quite as politely as that.

"I'm er...staying in town, not far from BPD, I could meet you at the station after work?" he said, his voice full of an almost desperate optimism. Jane was quick to dismiss the idea - she didn't want Korsak or Frost to know she was meeting him; in fact the fewer people that knew he was even back in town the better_. Because then I'd have to talk about it._

"No, I'll meet you at O' Malleys at six, but I can't stay for long, I have plans for the evening." As she spoke, she made sure she looked anywhere but into her fathers eyes - there were mini tidal waves of emotion building in Jane, and she was struggling to hold them all back.

Frank nodded. "Ok, thanks Janie, I appreciate it...well, I'll leave you to it...goodnight" and he turned to go. Jane stopped him as he made his way from the door.

"How'd you know I was here anyway?" She hadn't spoken to her father in almost three years, and unless he was psychic he wouldn't have known that she now lived with Maura.

Frank took a long look at Maura - long enough to make her feel slightly uncomfortable - and then back at his daughter, who had seen the look he gave her girlfriend. Maura looked across to Jane and noticed her jaw clench several times. Before Jane could give voice to her rising irritation, Frank answered her.

" I called by your apartment...Frankie told me you were living here now...I guess a lot's changed since I last saw you huh?...g'night Janie"

Jane sighed deeply as she watched her father turn to leave again, and felt the knot in her stomach slowly tighten - Frankie should have at least let her know that he'd seen their father. His turning up on the doorstep like this had sullied what had otherwise been a lovely day with her extended family, and she wondered how her Ma was taking his just appearing out of the blue.

"Yeah...it has...I'll see you at six...and don't be late, like I said, I have plans."

As Maura closed the door she watched Jane quickly wipe her eyes and take a moment to compose herself.

"What plans did you make for tomorrow evening?" Maura casually asked as Jane walked back into the living room. She wasn't aware that they'd planned to do anything much, except maybe look at colour swatches for a nursery. Jane's sad expression and her eventual mournful reply almost broke Maura's heart.

"Not to spend too much time listening to his sorry excuses." she sighed forlornly, as she made the few strides to her mother.

Angela was in the kitchen, trying to look busy with various pots and pans, but it was obvious she had heard the basics of the short - and sharp - conversation. Maura didn't need to be a First Grade Detective to see that both women were obviously upset by Franks impromptu visit - just probably for different reasons - and she stayed back and watched as Jane held out her arms to Angela. The two Rizzoli women stood in the kitchen just holding on to each other, and as much as her natural instinct was to comfort Jane, Maura knew that for now they needed some space from the rest of the family.

Maura was well aware that Jane still had unresolved 'issues' in her life, but particularly more recently with her father - specifically the parts where he'd had an affair with Lydia, and then to add insult to injury had asked Angela for an annulment of their marriage. But Jane's reluctance to open up on the subject had meant that she didn't really know the full extent of those 'issues'. It looked like perhaps now, finally, Jane would have to face up to some of them - all Maura could do was wait for Frank to light the blue touch paper...and then everyone would need to stand well back.

Not wanting to disturb the women, Maura quickly and quietly grabbed a bottle of wine from the refrigerator and a couple of glasses, and headed outside to the courtyard. Depositing the wine she headed back in and silently made her way to the guest bedroom - it was time for some discreet Isles' family quality time.

~ 0 ~

_Frank Rizzoli Senior had always been a proud man - proud of his Italian heritage, and proud of his immigrant parents who came to America with nothing, and had made a relatively successful life for themselves._

_On his wedding day, he watched with pride as the most beautiful girl in the neighbourhood walked down the aisle to become his wife. When Angela gave birth to a daughter eight months later, he was the happiest man on earth - even though he'd secretly hoped for a boy._

_When those boys eventually came along, his and Angela's family was complete, and he spent the best part of the next twenty years doing his utmost to provide for them. No wife of his was going to have to go out to work to help make ends meet, as much as she said she'd wanted to help - no, her place was at home with the kids, and making sure, with careful budgeting, that there was always food on the table. Frank's plumbing business would provide enough to keep the roof over their heads - with a little help from his 'off the books work'. He was an Italian - American, and he wasn't afraid of hard work if meant the family was provided for. _

_Did it really matter that Frank had to work all the hours God sent just to keep their heads above water? Angela understood that he needed to be on call twenty four hours a day, it's how the bills got paid. Was it really a problem that any free time was spent with the kids? After all, what was the point in having kids if you're not gonna spend time with them? Jane was a sports mad tomboy even from a young age, and it was like having three boys around the house. She could throw a mean curve ball, climb the tallest trees and fend off any bullies who were dumb enough to pick on Tommy or Frankie Junior. She looked out for her brothers, and was great around the house, helping Angela with the cooking and cleaning. She could play the piano and was brilliant at chess. Yes, Frank thought, she was a catch alright, and one day Janie would make the right man a wonderful wife..._

_Angela surely understood that the honeymoon period was over a long time ago, but she knew he still loved her, right? And he didn't have to keep telling her did he? It was a given. And she was happy wasn't she? She had the kids, and her art classes with Carla, she had her girlfriends - she had a good life. _

_When Jane became a cop of course Frank was proud of her - she was doing what she'd said she'd wanted to do since she was twelve and got hooked on re-runs of Cagney and Lacey. He was also grateful - the plumbing business was hard for a one man band, and much as he'd have loved to be able to send his daughter to college, there was no way they could've afforded it, even with a scholarship - thank goodness she didn't get accepted after applying to BCU. No, becoming a cop was a noble and worthwhile decision, and Jane would prove to be one of the best._

When Frank left what he now knew to be Jane's house, he climbed slowly into his truck and just sat looking across at the plush exterior of their home. So much had changed since he'd last seen his 'family', it was hard to believe that up until a few years ago they'd all been so close - all into each others lives, all knowing each others business, but ultimately, all there for each other if any of them were in trouble. As he thought about his brief, but awkward meeting with Jane, he knew that an awful lot of water had flowed under a hell of a lot of bridges. But somehow, he had to try and mend some of the broken ones...before it was too late.

He turned the engine over and the radio came on automatically. He recognised the songs' introduction straight away - it was once one of Angela's favourites. Now, having just seen his ex wife walk away and not once look back at him - largely because of the way he walked out on her - the irony of the song that Patsy Cline began to croon hit him like a sledgehammer.

_'Crazy, I'm crazy for feeling so lonely...I'm crazy, crazy for feeling so blue._

_I knew you'd love me as long as you wanted...and then someday, you'd leave me for somebody new...'_

He turned the radio off -before Patsy could start the next verse- put the truck in gear and drove a few hundred yards away from the house. Finding a quiet lay-by off one of the main streets he cut the engine and climbed through to the back seats. The October evening was a chilly one and he found his flask of coffee and the sandwiches that he'd bought earlier, and settled down to eat and warm up... alone with his thoughts. Once he'd finished, he pulled the blankets up to his neck and made himself as comfortable as he could.

Frank's 'bed' was already made...and now all he could do was lie in it.

~ 0 ~

While Jane and her mother were having some 'alone' time in the kitchen, Maura and her parents had quietly snuck out to the courtyard at the back of the house to give them some space. It was cool enough to fire up the patio heater and to keep their jackets on. Autumn had well and truly arrived, and it was fitting that although the day had been unusually warm, there was a definite chill in the air. Constance and Richard slowly sipped their wine as Maura explained about Frank's unexpected visit.

The day had been so enjoyable, with Maura and her mother seeming to bond more than ever - and with her father here as well, it had seemed like they were set for a true Rizzoli and Isles gathering. Franks arrival had rather thrown a spanner in the works, and she was worried about how Jane was dealing with it...or rather _not_ dealing with it.

Maura had only ever told her parents the condensed version of why Frank had left Angela, mainly because that was the only version she knew. Angela was as bad as Jane sometimes for keeping feelings and emotions bottled up, and as Maura told her parents what little she knew, a wry smile appeared on Constance's face.

"You know dear, sometimes Jane seems more English than me with all her stoic, stiff upper lip attitude." she said, glancing across to her husband who nodded in agreement.

" But, you can't be stoic indefinitely...eventually something has to give. I suspect that she _wants_ to open up to you, more than anything...she just doesn't know how...or perhaps she's afraid that if she _does_ open up, the floodgates will open and they might not close again...she's so..." Constance thought for a few seconds - trying to sum up Jane's personality in one word wasn't easy..."_enigmatic_... she really is surprisingly complex."

Maura sipped at her tea, knowing that 'complex' hardly covered it at all. But Jane _was_ an enigma, and she thought about all the times in their history Jane had managed to get Maura to talk about anything that was bothering her...her parents, her childhood, her terrible track record with relationships, and more recently, her discovery of her birth parents Paddy and Hope. Throughout all these revelations Jane had encouraged Maura to deal with any lingering doubts and worries...but Jane herself would never truly open up about the one thing that seemed to trouble her the most - after Charles Hoyt - her father's 'betrayal' of Angela and her family. But apparently honesty, and more worrying still, _trust_, didn't seem to work both ways. She was a closed book on the subject, and Maura knew that Constance was right - something would eventually have to give...and not necessarily just for Jane.

" I just wish she'd talk to me...we're having a baby together for goodness sake...oh gosh no, we're having _two_ babies together!" She still had trouble getting her head around that fact. " There shouldn't be anything we can't talk about by now...but this, this seems to be the one thing...she's hurting so much I know she is...but she won't...oh, it's all so frustrating!" and she set her cup down a tad harder than she'd intended, causing Constance and Richard to jump in surprise. They shared a knowing, concerned look with each other and this time it was Richards turn to chime in with his thoughts.

" From what you've told me about Jane, and from the few times she and I have talked, I'd say she's hurting a great deal...I know she comes across as a brash, no nonsense 'badass'...is that the expression?" He looked to his daughter for confirmation - Maura smiled and nodded..."Yes Daddy, I think she's the original badass Detective" (Richard was relieved that he wasn't totally behind the times where modern expressions were concerned.)

"But I think it's a truth that the harder the shell, the softer the centre...you only have to see the way she looks at you to know you mean the world to her...and she's fiercely protective of you...I wonder if she thinks that by opening up to you she's somehow giving _you_ more to worry about, that it should be her worrying about you rather than the other way round."

Constance and Maura both nodded in impressed surprise - Richard wasn't universally acknowledged as a great reader of people, he was history Professor not a psychologist, and yet it sounded like he'd given Jane's state of mind a great deal of thought. He smiled when he realised what they were thinking - but the Isles' family trait of logic gave an explanation for his reasoning.

" Don't take this the wrong way Maura, but Jane's stoicism is very much a _masculine_ trait...and I'm not suggesting for one minute she _acts_ like a man...god no, she's all woman..." Both Maura and Constance raised their eyebrows in surprise at the Freudian slip, and Richard did some fast backtracking. "What I _mean_ is she's been surrounded by men her entire life...at home, at work, and she's had to prove herself time and time again hasn't she?" He stopped to take a sip of wine, relieved at his save, and then realising he was quite enjoying his moment in the spotlight.

"...She's not comfortable showing any kind of weakness, I'd already deduced that, but I believe her reluctance to open up and show any sign of vulnerability is her Achilles Heel...she needs to be the strong one, the one who takes charge and leads the troops...but who does the leader turn to when things get tough?"

His audience waited with baited breaths for Richard to give them the answer...when none came they looked at him expectantly.

"No one...and that's the point...I suspect that events in her life cemented the idea that as long as you don't open up to people then they can't hurt you...it's a simple notion, but you can't keep it all in for ever, eventually she'll have to talk about it..."

Maura sighed heavily, she knew he was right of course, and she did worry what might happen if something ever tipped Jane's emotions over the edge. But she was surprised that her father seemed to know the inner workings of Jane's mind so well.

"Darling, your Mother and I have learned over the years that you _have_ to talk to each other...and to your children - although that didn't dawn on us until much later I'm afraid." He said ruefully. "I know your Mother talked to you about what happened with the baby, and I'm sorry we didn't tell you...it was so long ago now, and it didn't ultimately affect anything in _your_ life, so it was never relevant. But at least we are all talking honestly now, as a family... it makes things so much easier don't you think?"

Maura thought it was wonderful.

"And I don't think you realise just how much you talk about Jane when we have our little chats...though I confess I have delved a little into her history..." As soon as the words left his mouth he regretted them...he'd made his natural curiosity sound far more sinister than it was.

Constance looked at him knowing what he was referring to, but wishing he could have phrased it better...Maura looked at him like he'd said he had Jane under twenty four hour surveillance.

"What do you mean you've _delved_ into her history...what on earth were you hoping to find?" Maura asked, her dander now well and truly up. How had this day see sawed from heart warming to heartbreaking in such a short space of time?

" I'm sorry Maura, that sounded so much better when it was just a thought... I assure you I've not had her followed or bugged...I simply meant that I'm a concerned father." Maura's dander visibly dropped a little...

"When you told us that you and Jane were now together I wanted to know a little more about her...and if you Google Detective Jane Rizzoli there are pages and pages of information. She's made the headlines a few times hasn't she? But I still needed to know that she was worthy of my daughters affections. And there was always a chance that you'd want children, and that's the ultimate commitment. I know this sounds so old fashioned, but you're our little Maura, you always will be, however old you are...and whoever eventually managed to capture your heart had to be pretty darned special. I just needed to make sure she was as special as you made her sound."

Constance took his hand and squeezed it - a squeeze that said 'good save...again'

Maura couldn't think of a time when her mother and father had been so open and candid, and what it signified finally dawned on her - she was having a real, honest to goodness grown up talk with her parents for the first time in her life. She'd never really talked to either of them in depth about any of her previous relationships, and she'd certainly never thought of her parents as anything other than that - parents. It seemed to come as quite a shock to Maura that they were also a married couple, complete with married couple's problems, and concerns for their children.

Her current hormonal state meant she could flit from combustible to crumpled heap in the blink of a teary eye, and as she felt yet another surge of emotion welling up she struggled not to give in to it.

It had never occurred to her that Jane might be scrutinised by her parents. They'd taken the news of their new relationship with such apparent nonchalance- as they seemed to take any of Maura's news - and had just said something along the lines of 'as long as she makes you happy darling'. Now she came to think of it, they'd always sympathised when any previous relationships went south, but never sounded particularly surprised. Jane was the only one they'd ever asked about, and with any real conviction behind their enquiries... even before they had become a couple...

"And is she?" She cleared her throat..." as special as I made her sound I mean... does she meet with your approval?"

"Darling girl, haven't you worked it out yet?" For a genius, Richard Isles' daughter could be obtuse sometimes. " You're the love of her life...you always have been, we were just waiting for her, _and you_, to realise it. We've never had to question her love, or her loyalty to you...she's a remarkable woman...and I know she'd hate it if she knew we were talking about her like this...but you're the one she'll open up to. Make her talk to you Maura, she needs to let go of whatever's troubling her so much...she's going to be a parent soon...trust me, she'll need a clear head when those grandchildren of ours come along."

Proud grandfather to-be was an understatement but before Maura could say anything to her new favourite therapist Jane appeared from the house, rubbing her hands against the sudden cold evening air.

"Hey guys, you must be freezing sitting out here! Come on in, dinner's ready...and I hope you're hungry, Ma's kind of gone a little overboard as usual."

They all made their way in, and as Constance and Richard went to quickly freshen up, Jane gently pulled Maura to one side.

"Thanks for giving us some space Maur, I haven't seen Ma so upset for a long time...not since he walked out on her I guess. I told her I'm seeing him tomorrow night...she's actually pleased I'm going...she figures he's still my Dad, and I should at least talk to him...I guess she's right." She looked at Maura, who was looking back at Jane and smiling, her hazel eyes sparkling in unspoken agreement. "So, what'd you talk about while you were freezing out there, you looked deep in conversation...everything okay?"

Maura stood on tiptoes and kissed Jane- it was the kind of kiss that takes you by surprise with how much it can say... and Jane returned the compliment.

"I'll tell you later Jane...now I'm eating for three I'm suddenly starving...I'm already thinking about dessert!" A wicked grin slowly appeared on Jane's face, and her hands had somehow made their way to Maura's shapely rear.

"Mmm, me too...but with your parents in the next room, we'll just have to keep the noise down..."

Dinner was a relatively relaxed affair, with the conversation, and the wine, flowing. Maura had allowed Jane to indulge, just this once, and Jane was discovering that _good_ wine was actually quite a treat for the taste buds. Richard waxed lyrical about the particular vineyards and the precise mix of grapes used to create an 'explosion to the senses', but to Jane's untrained palette it just tasted nice, and slipped down easily as well.

Angela and Constance exchanged baby anecdotes and tips for new mothers, most of which were gratefully received by the soon to be parents. Jane was excited about converting the yoga room into a nursery, and so colour schemes and cribs, and mobiles and Moses baskets were all discussed. And for the rest of the evening Frank Senior's visit was put to the back of their minds as they enjoyed coffee and liqueurs and pleasant chat.

By ten o'clock, Richard and Constance had decided to call it a night and headed to bed. Angela, Jane and Maura cleared up and loaded the dishwasher, and then it was Angela's turn to head home.

Jane and Maura flopped onto the couch and inevitably ended up laying side by side, with Jane becoming the big spoon to Maura's little one. With one arm fully across Maura's midriff she gently massaged the doctor's stomach under her shirt, and for the first time could feel a slight curve instead of the usual flat tummy - Maura had the beginnings of a baby - bump.

"Hey Maur, you know you're staring to show...here, feel." she said, the excitement in her voice unmistakeable. She took Maura's hand and gently guided her across her curved stomach. Maura smiled as she felt the gentle swell of her belly - the first obvious sign of her pregnancy.

"Hey babies...how are you doing in there?" Maura said to her belly button, " I hope you're comfy Nugget...hey Jane, what should we call the other one...we only have a name for Nugget." Jane had been giving baby names some serious thought recently, knowing that a name can mean so much to a child - she'd never forgive her mother for 'Clementine'.

"I don't know...it's gonna be hard enough to come up with _actual_ names...we're gonna be raisin' Rizzoli - Isles kids, they're gonna need stellar names don't you think?"

Maura jumped excitedly - Jane had come up with a great nickname without even realising it.

"That's it! Jane, you're a genius...that's the name for the other one...well done you!" she said proudly and patted Jane's hand on hers.

" Wait...what did I say?...not _Stella_ Maur, that's just...well...it's...it's not much of a nickname is it?" The face Jane pulled could actually be felt by Maura and she laughed at the mental image.

"No Jane, not _Stella_..." She looked down and spoke to her belly button again..."Hey Nugget, say hi to your brother or sister...Raisin!"

~ 0 ~

**It looks like chapter 11 is going to be a tough one...I hope to see you there. **


	11. Home Truths

**So, here we are, finally, at chapter 11.**

**I'd like to apologise for an almost two month delay in updating...I can only tell you that my life took a left turn at Albuquerque and resulted in the break up of a long, long relationship. With all that going on I kinda lost my Mojo completely and it's only with the help of good friends and in particular AJ (thank you) that I could get this out. It's hard to write about happy couples and fluff when your own life is slowly coming apart at the seams...but, I bounce back well and here we are again!**

**This chapter is rated T for slight language and suggestive scenes, but nothing heavy or smutty...but an awful lot happens I can assure you...**

**Oh, and do you remember about a hundred years ago I got excited about reaching 100 followers of the story? Well, it's over 200 now so thank you everyone who followed, favourited and reviewed... but please don't be afraid to review, I honestly value all your opinions and it spurs me on to do better.**

**~ 0 ~**

" Nugget and Raisin...I love it!" Jane replied as she continued to massage Maura's tummy. The feel of her soft, slightly curved belly, coupled with the lingering warmth from the wine at dinner was having quite an effect on Jane - Maura had never looked, smelled or felt more enticing, and she carefully extricated herself from her little spoon...

"Lie back for me Maur."

Placing a cushion underneath Maura's head and another under her feet, Jane kneeled on the floor tucked up against the couch. She put the throw from the couch next to her on the floor, just in case.

"Comfy?" she asked her girlfriend, who nodded and smiled back but looked unsure of what Jane was up to.

"Very...thank you..._Jane, what are you doing?"_ she whispered, as Jane used her long, dextrous fingers to undo the thin belt and then the buttons on Maura's jeans in what seemed like one skilled move.

" Dessert " Jane answered, matter of factly, like it was the stupidest question Maura had ever asked. The doctor squirmed a little under Jane's deft touch...she really did have inordinately nimble fingers...and her pregnancy hormone surge was making every part of her ultra sensitive.

"My parents are only across the hall...Jane!" she exclaimed as quietly as she could - her girlfriends fingers were brushing against her skin and heading teasingly lower as she gently tried to slide the jeans down a little. As nice as it felt, Maura was very conscious that her parents might hear them. It was like being a teenager making out on the couch_... not that Maura Isles ever did anything like that when she was a teenager... _

"Relax honey" Jane said with a smirk, and a devilish look in her eyes. "Could you just...lift your hips...help me out a little." Maura lifted up enough for Jane to slide the jeans off, leaving her girlfriend feeling rather exposed in just her underwear and a shirt.

"Jane, how can I relax when I'm half naked on the couch and my parents could walk in at any time?!" she quietly huffed at her girlfriend who just kneeled there and ran her deeply dark eyes over Maura's semi nude body.

"But you have to admit, it is kind of exciting knowing we might get caught isn't it?" Jane asked, the timbre of her whispering voice now so low and sultry that Maura couldn't fail to feel aroused by it. "That we don't know how far we can go... before we go _too_ far."

Licking her lips she placed her hands either side of her on Maura's leg and leaned down. Starting at her ankle she slowly kissed all along Maura's leg, covering as much area as possible in feather light touches.

"Do you have any idea how sexy you are now you're pregnant Maur?" she whispered, as she headed further along the leg - which was struggling to keep still by this point - along with the rest of it's perturbed owner.

"I mean...you're sexy as hell _all_ the time"...more kisses were trailed along the doomed limb..."but now...I don't know what it is... but god...you're sexier than ever." and as she arrived at the top of Maura's thigh the doctor couldn't silence the squeal that came from her lips. "Oh god Jane...please, can we take this into the bedroom?" she begged.

Maura was afraid she may embarrass herself quite soon if Jane didn't slow down and stop being so damn good with those soft lips of hers.

"In a minute Maur, I just want to say hi to the babies..." and she leaned over Maura's slight bump and kissed all around her belly button, her lips edging perilously close to other areas...rather _sensitive_ areas.

"Hey Nugget...hey Raisin...how're you guys doing in there?" she asked, almost as if there were a direct link through Maura's navel to the babies inside.

"Do you know how lucky you are?...you have the most beautiful Mommy in the world waiting to meet you both...and she's going to be the best Mommy you could wish for...yes she is!"

She nuzzled Maura's tummy with her nose, causing the ME to laugh and lift herself up a little to watch Jane's silly, but very sweet antics. Jane decided to play to her audience.

"And it's probably better we do all the rude stuff now...before she gets to be the size of a house and gets all grumpy and kicks me out of bed..." and with that she blew a raspberry into Maura's navel and shook her head, tickling her tummy with her mane of hair in the process. Maura couldn't hold back any longer and roared with laughter, before sitting up and taking Jane's hands in hers.

"Oh, I get it...so I won't be 'sexy as hell' when I'm as big as a house? Well, maybe I should just kick you out onto the couch now to save time..." and she leaned down to kiss Jane, - a long, slow kiss full of a promise of things to come. Eventually Jane's knees began to go numb, having transferred all feeling to other parts of her anatomy, and as she stood up she stretched her long frame out. Taking Maura by surprise she stooped down and placed one strong arm under Maura's legs and the other around her shoulders and scooped her up in her arms. Maura clung on and repositioned herself...Jane's lithe but wiry frame belied her strength, and Maura knew she was safe in the arms of her dashing Detective.

"Well, when you're the size of a house I won't be able to do this will I?" and she headed towards the bedroom. "You Maura...me Jane!" she said in a fair imitation of Tarzan. Maura hoped Jane didn't suddenly want to stop and beat her chest...

Jane gently deposited Maura on the bed and went to retrieve the doctors jeans and replace the cushions and throw - she apparently _was_ used to hiding the evidence after making out on the couch. When she came back it was to find Maura in just her half open shirt and no underwear, lying propped up on her elbow...waiting for Jane. The sight of Maura in next to nothing almost took her breath away, and she stood in silent awe for a few seconds and quickly undressed, never once taking her eyes off her gorgeous girlfriend. After a minute or so her brain finally clicked into the right gear and she could form spoken words.

" I don't care if you get to be the size of a condominium Maura, there'll still be no one on earth as beautiful as you" she said as she made her way to the bed and slid in beside her.

"And I'll _still_ want to make love to you even if it involves ropes and pulley's..."

Maura could at least laugh at that, but it didn't stop her giving Jane a playful slap on the arm.

"You say the _sweetest_ things..." Maura said sarcastically as she shifted to lean over the detective.

"I know...it's all part of my charm...don't deny it isn't turning you on baby" she said in mock seriousness as she quickly flipped their positions so that she was now looking down on Maura - a move so well practised that if you'd blinked you'd have missed it - Jane had skills, there was no denying it.

"I want to see you..." she whispered, her low voice just oozing desire, and as her eyes travelled slowly across Maura's body, her dilating pupils were lost in the dark chocolate of her irises. Jane being turned on by Maura was the ultimate aphrodisiac for the doctor, and _that_ look could turn her on every single time.

"Do you like what you see Jane?" Maura asked with a voice so low and full of suggestion that Jane had to swallow hard...

"Oh I see a lot of things I like Maur...but I see _everything_ I love..."

~ 0 ~

After spending the next couple of hours making unhurried and unselfish love, Jane and Maura drifted happily into sleep, and for the first time in days it was Jane who succumbed first. Relieved that whatever was troubling her on previous nights didn't keep the detective awake, Maura soon followed.

Whether it was Jane herself becoming restless, or just some kind of primal alarm clock kicking into action she wasn't sure, but Maura found herself waking several times during the night. Each time she woke she instinctively checked to see if Jane was still sleeping, and when satisfied that she indeed was, she'd fall back quickly.

When she awoke again at five thirty five, this time she found it harder to get back to sleep. All this checking on Jane had brought to mind that this must be what it's like when you have children - either being woken at all hours _by_ them, or waking at all hours to check on them. She'd read studies that showed that even the soundest of sleepers would still wake up if a baby was crying, even if it wasn't their baby - and even if they didn't have any children.

Mother Nature really did seem to think of everything, but the prospect of having two babies waking up at the same time and needing feeding and changing was more daunting. But, she was organised, and pragmatic - two essentials to have in your armoury where babies were concerned.

And, really, if Tommy and Lydia could do such an amazing job with TJ, then surely she and Jane would be able to cope...wouldn't they?

~ 0 ~

After a leisurely family breakfast, Constance and Richard were saying their goodbyes to Angela before heading off to the airport with Jane and Maura - it seemed their flying visit really was just that. They were heading up to New York for Richard to finalise some business for The Isles Foundation, and from there they would head 'home' to Switzerland.

"Goodbye Angela" Constance said as she gave her counterpart an affectionate hug. "And thank you so much for dinner last night, it was wonderful...you know you really are wasted in that little Cafe my dear..."

Angela beamed at the compliment and Jane gave her a thumbs up signal and a quiet 'yay' - a compliment like that from Constance Isles, who was close to nobility? Priceless. She could almost hear her mother telling Carla how she'd cooked for Royalty.

Richard was next in line, with a vigorous hug and a handshake to boot.

"Goodbye Angela my dear...thanks so much for everything, and for keeping an eye on Maura for us...it's good to know she's got the Rizzoli women looking out for her."

Angela continued shaking Richard's hand long after he had stopped.

"She's like another daughter to me Richard, and once a Rizzoli, always a Rizzoli...see you soon I hope..."

Richard surmised that 'always a Rizzoli' didn't quite apply to _every_ member of the family...namely Frank Rizzoli himself.

The Isles' stepped out onto the driveway and headed to the car, and as she opened the door Constance called back to Angela.

"I do hope Amazon send you that yarn soon Angela...au revoir!"

~ 0 ~

"What time's your flight again Constance?" Jane asked her 'Mother in Law' via the rear view mirror - the traffic on the Turnpike was starting to get heavy.

"Twelve forty...do you think we'll make it in time?" Constance replied as she looked out of the windows and then back at Jane. "We have some..._business_ to complete in New York before our flight to Geneva at seven...I'd hate to miss our appointment."

Jane glanced back at Constance and then to Maura who also seemed to have picked up on the fact that this was the second time she'd mentioned some 'business' they needed to take care of, and this time she made it sound even more mysterious - and worthy of some gentle probing.

"Well, if it's _that_ important I can always put the siren on and we'll part the traffic faster than Moses and the Red Sea...just say the word!" and she grinned mischievously at Constance in the mirror. Constance smiled back, while Maura looked aghast across at Jane.

"Jane you can't use the siren for unofficial business, you know that! Honestly...and with my parents in..." She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked round to find Constance chuckling.

"Darling she was joking...at least I _think_ she was...and we wouldn't ever ask such a thing of Detective Rizzoli, even if meant missing an appointment."

Maura rapped Jane on the arm and gave her an 'oh honestly!' look. Jane just smirked back at her rolling her eyes while Richard sighed dramatically from the back seat.

"I always wanted to ride in a police car as it gave chase...or a fire engine...either really." he said wistfully.

"It always looked so exciting...the closest I ever got was an ambulance when my appendix burst... but I was only six so I don't really remember it." and he continued staring out of the window, apparently reminiscing.

He may have only been joking but it was the undertone of regret that reminded Maura of herself as a young child. There were so many exciting things that seemed to happen to other children, so many small adventures that seemed to bypass her as the perennial 'outsider' - only ever _looking_ in, never seeming to be joining in with the other children's experiences of life. She wasn't sure which was more sad - not knowing how to ask to be a part of it all, or not being invited to join in with them in the first place.

The thought of any of her own children feeling so separated from what the rest of the world was doing was just so painful that she could feel herself suddenly wanting to cry. Not wanting to burst into tears where there was no obvious means of escape she decided to change the subject.

"Well, if you want to ride in a police car maybe Jane could take you to the advanced drivers circuit some time...you know she went to racing school and had a course of lessons." Maura stated proudly.

Jane smiled at the memory of the one birthday gift she actually liked...and that she'd never forget.

"She's a skilled driver and I'm sure you'd find it absolutely thrilling!" Maura continued, and she looked around to see her father positively salivating at the prospect. The thought of speeding around a circuit with his 'badass' daughter in law was too good an opportunity to pass up.

"Would that be possible Jane?" he asked tentatively...but with a strong overtone of hope. "It does sound like fun but I wouldn't want to put you to any trouble."

Jane looked in the rear view mirror and saw the excited look on Richard's face...how could she disappoint him now?

"I'm sure I could call in a favour with Murray, he owes me at least one...and you've not had fun in a car until you've pulled a u - ey, or drifted around half the track on the skid pan...or tried the obstacle course...you need to be strapped in well for that one!" she said mischievously, watching Richard's face appear to go from excited to terrified in under ten seconds.

He hadn't understood half of what she'd said but it sounded like the most fun he'd have this year.

~ 0 ~

With the luxury of Stanley still being laid up with his stomach bug for a few more days Angela had gone to town in the cafe. Freshly made cakes, pastries and sandwiches adorned the chiller cabinets and the selection of teas, coffees and healthy beverages on offer would have Wellness Captain Maura beaming with satisfaction. What Stanley would make of it all she wasn't quite sure, but the surge in custom and, more importantly, profit, ought to persuade the miserly old curmudgeon that it was the way forward. Of course if she could have free reign over the running of the place she'd change it completely, but for now it was at least a start. Constance's comment of being wasted in the cafe had hit home, and she had decided that should any better offers come along she would take them and take charge of her life again, and be able to fully repay her 'debt' to Maura.

While the cafe was quiet she grabbed her purse and quickly headed down to the morgue, to drop in an envelope for Maura - it might not be much at the moment, but at some time in the near future the financial debt at least would be paid off.

Angela would forever be grateful to Maura for letting her stay at the guest house rent free - an incredibly generous gesture towards someone who at the time was nothing more than her best friends Mom. But the problem of the debts left behind when Frank walked out on her were her most pressing issue...once again Maura had come to her rescue, on the understanding that Jane would never know about it, or just how much money was involved.

They both knew that if she ever found out that her then best friend had paid off all of Angela's debts she'd be relieved that her mother wouldn't be serving time in jail - but her pride at not being able to pay the debt herself would take a serious dent. If she found out the _actual_ sum involved then the fragile relationship with her father could disintegrate completely. Jane really was her father's daughter when it came to her ability to provide for them - so for once, she and Maura were keeping something from Jane - not a lie as such, just an attempt to avoid a very awkward confrontation.

As time went on and Jane and Maura's relationship developed into so much more, she was on hand with relationship advice, or rustling them up meals when they'd had to work long into the night. She was also able to advise Maura how to handle her sometimes hot - headed daughter, a skill that sometimes only a mother can have. She hoped that the twins inherited a few extra genes from Maura to counteract the Rizzoli influence.

Stepping out of the elevator she hurried on through to Maura's office and deposited the envelope on the desk, with a little note on it...' _As always, thank you Maura.'_

She headed straight back up to the Cafe, where Frost was patiently waiting for some coffee and Danish's for himself and Korsak - it had become something of a ritual over the last few days, and Frost hoped that Stanley didn't come back and change it all again...Angela's Danish's were fast becoming legendary.

~ 0 ~

At the airport, it was time for the Rizzoli - Isles clan to say goodbye, for now at least. They'd made it with some time to spare and were even able to sit together for a few minutes and have some coffee, or rather what passed for coffee in the sterile and characterless environment of a busy airport.

It was also deemed a suitable time for Richard to finally reveal what he and Constance would be getting up to in New York, before they headed back to Switzerland.

"I know you've both been curious about our New York plans and I think it's time we put you both out of your misery don't you?" he said knowingly. Jane and Maura looked at them with _'curious, us?_' expressions and smiled. It _had_ been intriguing them.

"Well, obviously you know that a large part of our financial portfolio is tied up in the Isles Foundation, a legacy from Constance's parents, and you also know that when Maura came along we set up a trust fund for her." Both Jane and Maura had an idea what was coming next and nodded earnestly.

"So, with that in mind, we're setting up a fund for each of the twins which they'll be able to access when they reach twenty five."

Maura looked to Jane - she could sense that although she was smiling and saying how generous it was, her demeanour had changed. Perhaps Constance had picked up on it too.

"There is a proviso to this fund of course." Constance said, "they won't get anything handed to them on a silver plate...just like Maura they'll have to prove themselves first, and make their own way. If they've found their place in the world and have careers of their own then they can do whatever they wish with the money...if not, it'll be held back for five years."

Jane seemed to relax a little at this caveat to the deal.

Richard continued with the rest of their news...

"What you _don't_ know is that your Mother and I have decided to take less of a _hands_ _on_ role with The Foundation. We're not getting any younger and the travelling is exhausting...so we've decided to leave the day to day business to the Board, and we'll take more of an advisory role... and we have other projects we'd like to pursue as well." he added.

"So you'll be staying on in Switzerland then?" Maura asked, her disappointment obvious. Jane took her hand, she knew how much this visit had meant to her.

"You'll be here for the births though right?" Jane asked, hoping that the old Isles trait of not being there for Maura wasn't about to rear its ugly head again. Both Richard and Constance sighed in unison, hearing the edge in Jane's tone.

"You two wonderful girls are having twins Jane! You're making us Grandparents...we wouldn't want to miss that for the world!" Constance said excitedly.

"We're going to be with you every step of the way darlings...we're moving back to Boston!"

~ 0 ~

The Homicide department had been missing one vital ingredient to ensure it's productivity over the last few days - a homicide. Not one deranged lunatic had shown them the courtesy of going on a shooting spree. No random serial killers, poisoners or arsonists had the decency to provide any work for the morgue techs, and Jane was beginning to wonder if anything needed cleaning she was so bored.

All this time being busy doing nothing was only giving her more time to think about her father, and the mess he'd caused - not only for her, but her entire family.

She needed coffee and she needed to let off steam, but if she went to the Cafe that meant seeing her mother, who would no doubt ask how she was, and was she okay about seeing her father, and did she want to talk about it?

The answer to all those questions would be 'no', but she'd say she was fine if only to placate the woman who last night cried into her daughters shoulder over the man she'd spent almost her entire adult life with...only for him to leave her for a younger model...and then to leave the younger model as well.

As if that wasn't bad enough for a really bad Jerry Springer show, Angela had also admitted last night that when Frank Senior had left he had owed a lot more than she had originally let on. The divorce took any money she had squirreled away from her 'housekeeping' budget, and when the house was sold, there was nothing left. If Maura hadn't offered her the guest house rent free she didn't know what would have happened. It was no wonder her Mother took on other jobs, to at least make enough to get by. Angela had politely refused her offer of assistance, but promised that if she ever needed it she would ask.

Angela had gone past the 'I can't live without him' stage long ago, and was now happy with Cavanaugh, and her new life at the guest house and with her job in the Division One Cafe. What _she_ was still furious about was him asking for an annulment - as if he could ever deny their marriage and the three great kids that came from it. _That_ was something she could never forgive him for, and of course Jane and her brothers couldn't either.

Although she drove her nuts a lot of the time, she had to admit that on this subject, her mother was entirely justified to now feel nothing towards her ex husband... Jane on the other hand, had never had closure, had never had the chance to grieve properly over the 'loss' of the man who once meant the world to her...and although by agreeing to see him it meant they might actually talk for the first time since he left, she was afraid of the possible repercussions it might bring.

What she was almost afraid to admit - what made her feel guilty for even thinking it - was that she missed him. Like a little girl caught in the tug of war between two divorcing parents, she felt loyalty to her hard done by mother...and an aching longing to be 'Daddy's little girl' again.

April's words in the Courthouse spiralled around her mind - _'For the sins of the Fathers, you, though guiltless, must suffer'. _Unfortunately, they never told 'Daddy's little girl' just how much suffering was enough.

Jane decided it would be better for all concerned to forgo the coffee and she would instead head down to the morgue and see what Maura was doing. It would inevitably be a toss up between shoes and baby related shopping she was sure, but at least it would take her mind off her impending visit to O' Malleys.

When she arrived it was to find no signs of life in an empty morgue and an even emptier office. She fired off a quick text message to her errant girlfriend and paced a bit as she waited for a reply. Glancing down she spotted an envelope on Maura's desk, and, recognising the handwriting picked it up. It wasn't sealed and she could see there was a check in it - intrigued, and looking round to make sure she was alone she slid it out and was taken aback to see Angela had made it out to Maura.

"A thousand bucks?!...Jeez" she exclaimed as she read Angela's message...'as always thank you Maura'...what the hell...?" she muttered to herself, wondering why her Mother was giving Maura such a large sum of money.

"Jane? What are you doing down here?" Maura had her stealth Crocs on and Jane hadn't heard her come in. Jane turned in a flash waving the check at her girlfriend.

"Care to explain why my Mother's giving you a thousand bucks?" she said accusingly. "And I'm guessing it's not for the first time either."

Maura's face dropped at being found out, but she was cross that Jane had opened the envelope in the first place. Her inability to lie without coming out in a rash meant she had no choice but to explain..._oh boy, this should be good_.

"As a member of the Police Department I thought you of all people would know better than to open something that's not addressed to you...and it's not something that Angela or I intended you to find out about..._obviously_." She took the check from Jane and asked her to sit down so she could explain.

By the time Maura had finished, Jane - who had only just grudgingly come to terms with the Isles' passing on a small fortune to her yet to be born children - was now even more irked that her wealthy girlfriend had bailed out her mother and not had the decency to tell her. Not wishing to make a scene in the morgue with Susie Chang now mooching outside, she decided to head out for the day.

"I'm sorry Maura but I can't be here right now...I'm pretty sure I'll say something I'll regret and this isn't the time or the place...I'll see you at home." And with that she sighed and flounced out of the office.

"Jane, where are you going?" Maura shouted to her, with Susie looking on at the obviously angry Detective..._uh oh, trouble in paradise?_

"To get a drink!" Jane shouted back as she disappeared out of the morgue.

Maura stood, hands on her hips, quietly fuming. If she and Jane were going to have an all out fight about this then her stubbornly proud girlfriend was going to have to face some home truths. She grabbed her things and walked out of her office as calmly and as composed as possible. She locked the door and as Susie smiled awkwardly at her, she stopped to speak to her.

"Do me a favour will you Susie?" she said with a curt tone to the flustered criminalist, "If you ever see Jane's mother down here again without me, send her _straight_ back upstairs will you...whenever she's in my office trouble's not far behind her!"

And out she flounced as well...leaving a bemused Susie quaking slightly at her hero's unexpected outburst.

_Paradise lost?_

~ 0 ~

O' Malley's in downtown Boston was a slightly run down bar with a questionable clientele and even more questionable owners. The O'Malley's had fingers in a lot of pies, and were well known to BPD, but they were clever and nothing on them had ever stuck. It was also widely known that the O' Malley's were related by marriage to Paddy Doyle. Two of the biggest crime families in Boston had a share of this bar and Detective Rizzoli chose here to have a drink with her errant father.

But, if you didn't want to be seen or had anyone to hide from it was the perfect place to be invisible. As Jane quietly sloped in she checked her watch - it was five thirty. She'd removed her badge and her gun was stashed in her jacket pocket, out of sight. She headed to the bar and when she'd got a beer she walked and scanned the area for any sign of her father. There were several high seated booths and she almost missed the hunched figure sitting in the corner, well out of sight.

"Hey Pop." she said quietly, although it still seemed to startle him. He went to stand but Jane motioned for him to stay where he was.

"What are you drinking?" she asked him, seeing an almost empty glass. She was struck again by how old and un - Pop like he looked - he was almost dishevelled.

"Just water thanks Janie, I'm watching my figure." he joked, and Jane smiled a little, but unsure quite why.

"Sure you don't want a beer? I'm getting another anyway." she asked, but he shook his head.

"Just water will be fine...stick some lime in it maybe."

With fresh drinks they sat in an awkward silence for a while. When she'd run out of any more label to pick at she finally broke the silence.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about? It sounded important the other day."

She looked at her 'Pop', the man who was her hero when she was growing up, and who now looked like a man with all the troubles of the world on his slumped shoulders.

Frank hardly knew where to begin...

"So you're with Maura now huh? I gotta say I was surprised when Frankie told me...I knew you were a tomboy growing up but..." Jane put her palm out to stop him saying any more.

"If you got me here to have a dig at my relationship with Maura then I'm walking out that door right now and you won't see me again...and how I grew up had nothing to do with it..."

She stopped for breath and a swig of beer - her day had been bad enough without this as well. Frank smiled and put his own hands up in mock defeat.

"Hey, Janie...all I ever wanted for you and your brothers was for you all to be healthy and happy...if Maura makes you happy then I'm glad...you deserve to be...I only wish I'd been able to make your Mom that happy...but that's my problem not yours..." he said quietly, almost to himself.

He took a sip of water and gathered his thoughts as Jane looked across at him - she'd felt sure he would disapprove.

"Well, you might want to know that Maura's pregnant...you're going to be a Grandpa...twice actually, we're having twins." She grinned as she took a pull on her beer.

She saw her father's face light up, and his eyes seemed to brighten at the news. She realised how sad he'd seemed, and was now worried about him...she was always Daddy's little girl, and it seemed that hadn't really changed, even though she was still mad as hell at him.

"Twins? Wow...Janie, that's great news...congratulations!" and he raised his glass to Jane who reciprocated with her beer.

"Thanks Pop, I'm a little overwhelmed by it to honest, but I'm sure we'll be fine...it's exciting, but a little scary you know? Bringing two new lives into the world..."

She paused, surprised that she was opening up to her father so easily - the father who she was still mad as hell at.

"Hey, have you seen er...TJ yet? You know that Lydia and Tommy had a boy a while back, did Frankie tell you?"

She wasn't sure whether to mention it or not, but, he said he wanted to talk, so talk they should.

Frank fidgeted a little in his seat - he'd wondered how long it would be before Lydia was mentioned.

"Um, yeah, I've seen him actually...I called round with Frankie a few days ago...we made sure Lydia was at her Mom's...I'm sorry Janie, the whole Lydia thing was a big mistake...it's all been one big fuck up really..." he said and ran his hands through his hair and pinched the bridge of his nose. Jane realised she did exactly the same thing when she was stressed, she just hadn't noticed that her Pop did it too.

"Why'd you do it Pop? Why'd you leave Ma...and us...for Lydia of all people? Was it some kind of mid life crisis or something?"

She didn't care if her next question was a little close to the bone, she was still mad as hell at him after all, and it was the one question she needed an answer to.

"Was it worth it? Everything you put Ma through, everything you put your family through...was it worth it? Was the grass greener on the other side?"

She had tears in her eyes but fought against them - she didn't want her Pop to see her cry, not tonight.

Frank felt like he was being interrogated by his own daughter - no wonder she made detective so early.

And he felt he deserved it.

"You know, when you became a cop I was so proud of you Janie...you were doing something that you really wanted to do...and when you said you didn't get into BCU but wanted to be a cop I was relieved...I could never have afforded to send you to college."

Jane felt a pang of regret - at not being able to go to college, and the reason why.

"I did get accepted to BCU Pop...I had one of the highest scores in fact..."

Frank looked confused.

"But, you said you didn't get in...why'd you say that if you got in?"

"Because I knew we couldn't afford it." she said as she took another swig.

" You really do beat all Janie...I can't believe you did that...but the day you passed out of the Academy me and your mother were the proudest we'd ever been...I guess we still are...you and the boys turned out better than we could have hoped for."

He took another sip of water, he knew he hadn't answered Jane's question yet.

"You know, it wasn't easy Janie, I had to work so hard to provide for you...but your Ma, she did a great job keeping it all together, making the best of what we had, making it stretch a little further...and she offered to go out to work but my stupid pride said I could make enough for my family, I was the breadwinner, the man of family, I should be able to provide...you know?"

Jane nodded...she knew, she knew because she could never provide enough to look after Maura and two kids...and her own pride might be her downfall, like her Pops was.

"But I got into trouble a few years back. I took some jobs on that I couldn't really afford, or cash in hand...or I'd undercut my rivals so I'd at least be earning until a bigger job came along...but they never came Janie, they never came and I never made enough for your Ma to stretch. So I fell behind on the taxes, and the bills, and my suppliers... and I got caught...and I owed so much in the end that I got scared...so I did the one thing I knew I _could_ do...I ran."

The tears that Jane had been fighting were welling up now, and she took her Pop's hand in hers and squeezed. She'd never known him to be so open and heartbreakingly honest, and as she listened she saw so much of him in herself...the apple didn't fall far from the tree as April had said about Leon_. For the sins of the fathers_...

"How'd you end up with Lydia? Let's face it Pop, she's not exactly blessed in the brains department is she? What did she do, bat her lashes at you and you fell for it?" she asked

She could forgive him some things, but adultery wasn't one of them.

"Because for a few weeks she thought I was _somebody_ alright?!" Frank was almost shouting now and Jane was taken aback at the force in his voice.

"She didn't know me from Adam and she thought I was _somebody_...and I felt like a nobody...I felt like a nobody because I failed... I was given one thing to do, _one_ thing...and I screwed it up. Alright?...I screwed it up."

He was crying, and Jane was crying and she had gone to him to hold him...and if the bartender had come along just then he'd have scurried back and not gone near them again until closing time.

"I made everything so much worse because of my stupid pride Janie..." he said as he dabbed his eyes with a napkin, " I lost everything, my home, my family...I'm living in my car because anything I earn goes straight to the IRS...and if this teaches you anything, let it be that you have to be honest with your wife, tell her the truth if things get on top of you...don't run like I did and destroy everything and everyone that you love...and who love you...the people that you would have died for before you became a selfish, stubborn idiot like me."

Jane had heard enough. The father she had idolised had shown himself to be foolish, proud and now, almost pitiful. But he was _her_ Pop, the same Pop who'd play ball until it was too dark to see, who'd clamber up and get her down from a tree when she'd climbed too high. The Pop who cried when she passed out from the Academy. He was _her_ Pop, and that was all that mattered - sometimes, however angry you are, you have to put your family first...and she'd remind herself of that as soon as she got home to Maura, the mother of her children.

"How much did you owe? I know Ma said there was nothing left from her half of the settlement, so how much was it?"

She braced herself for the sum involved.

Frank went white as a sheet...this was the part he'd dreaded more than anything...and the part that would make or break his new found closeness with Jane...

He girded his loins, took a deep breath and just came out with it.

"Originally, it was fifty grand or thereabouts." he said cautiously.

"Originally? What does that mean?"

And Frank watched her face, as the truth dawned on her. "Don't tell me you did what I think you did Pop?" she sighed, and ran her fingers through her hair, pinching her nose for good measure.

"I was desperate Janie, but the interest got out of control and before I knew it I was knee deep in debt...that's why I ran." he looked like a little boy who'd been caught raiding the cookie jar...if only that was all it had been.

"Who'd you borrow the money from Pop...which shark did you go swimming with?" She was beyond irked now, and was dreading any name he gave her...

"Seamus O' Malley" he whispered..."can we get out of here now please?"

~ 0 ~

**Hope you liked it, let me know. See you at chapter 12...**


	12. Just an update on the next chapter

In Vitro we Trust...an update on it's progress.

First of all, thanks for even reading this- I know chapters of In Vitro we Trust have been few and far between of late, and it's so frustrating when an author apparently disappears leaving a story unfinished...and I can only apologise...again.

Those of you kind and lovely followers who read chapter11 of my story will know that my home situation has changed recently, and for too many reasons to go into I've not written chapter 12...yet. I'm afraid splitting from a partner of 11 years - and the ensuing dramas that it brings - have not been conducive to writing anything vaguely coherent. I'd far rather be in a happy place to write, and the last few weeks have not been that place...

But...

As of tomorrow, I have a house to myself and more quality time than I've had in a while, so I guess it means I'll be writing again - I've found that happy place at last, and my Mojo again!

You'll probably get a lot of chapters in one go though, because as of tomorrow, would you believe it, I'm without a landline and broadband for up to 3 weeks...the gods seem to be in cahoots with the ex on this one!

So I'll not be able to upload posts easily, or quickly, so you may well find chapters 12, 13 and 14 flying into your inboxes and driving you nuts with all the notifications!

So, please bear with me, and please stick with the story. I vowed at chapter one to see it through and Ranger doesn't give up, and it's getting quite exciting now don't you think?

Finally, can I take this opportunity to thank AJ, without whom I'd have gone nuts myself over the last few weeks...you're a star and a god send and I love you.

So, for those still following, thank you for your support, and for taking the time to read this apology...and I promise I'll finish this story, it means too much to me to leave it 'in progress'...it will be 'complete'.

See you all at chapter 12...

Ranger.


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